What are stablecoins and why did America legalize them?

Private digital dollars. America banned a state coin and legalized stablecoins in the GENIUS Act of July 2025, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sold them as a way to rein in the national debt. Stablecoins passed $320 billion in April 2026, and Tether held $141 billion of US government debt in March 2026, a top-20 lender to America if it were a country. Digital banks and digital wallets become the new branches.