Stable News is Lumx's weekly curation dedicated to tracking the major moves in stablecoins, digital infrastructure, and the future of global payments.
The past two weeks marked a simultaneous acceleration on multiple fronts. The CLARITY Act reaches its decisive moment in the US Senate with a markup scheduled for May 14, while the institutional ecosystem advances independently of the legislative outcome. At Consensus Miami, Anchorage Digital revealed that 20 major institutions are in line to issue their own stablecoins. In Europe, the Qivalis consortium formalized Fireblocks as infrastructure for a euro stablecoin backed by 12 banks. And Visa expanded its USDC settlement pilot to Canada with Wealthsimple.
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CLARITY Act faces a decisive day in the Senate
In brief:
Senate Banking Committee holds CLARITY Act markup tomorrow (May 14) at 10:30 ET
The Tillis-Alsobrooks yield compromise was rejected by the banking lobby on May 9
If it doesn't advance before the May 21 recess, the next legislative window may not come until 2030
The CLARITY Act, the bill that defines how digital assets will be classified in the US, dividing jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, reaches its most critical moment tomorrow. The Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Senator Tim Scott, scheduled the markup for May 14, marking the Senate's first formal vote on the bill after nearly a year of delays since its passage in the House with 294 votes in July 2025.
The 309-page bill released by the committee on Sunday includes the compromise negotiated by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks on stablecoin yield: it prohibits passive returns (holding USDC or USDT generates no yield), but allows rewards for actual platform activity. The crypto industry, including Coinbase and Circle, supported the deal.
The problem: three days before the markup, the three largest US banking lobby groups formally rejected the compromise, warning that stablecoins drain deposits, every dollar that moves from a bank account to a stablecoin wallet is cheap funding the bank loses. Democrats also threatened to block the bill unless it includes an ethics clause covering public officials with crypto holdings.
The calendar creates genuine urgency. If the CLARITY Act doesn't advance before the Memorial Day recess on May 21, senators including Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno have warned that the next viable window may not come until 2030. The White House is targeting a presidential signature by July 4. This legislation, complementary to the GENIUS Act, which already establishes the framework for stablecoin issuers and is moving toward implementation, may determine whether the US will have a complete digital asset framework or whether the regulatory vacuum will persist for another legislative cycle.
20 banks and big tech companies in Anchorage Digital's pipeline to issue their own stablecoins
In brief:
Anchorage CEO reveals pipeline of ~20 financial institutions and big tech companies at Consensus Miami
Anchorage has won every major stablecoin issuance mandate since the GENIUS Act
Partnership with M0 enables global institutions to mint fully configurable stablecoins
At Consensus Miami on May 7, Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital, the first federally regulated crypto bank in the US, revealed that approximately 20 financial institutions and large technology companies are in line to issue their own stablecoins through the Anchorage platform.
The number is significant, but the more telling detail is the concentration: since the GENIUS Act passed, Anchorage claims to have won every major stablecoin issuance mandate in the market. Clients range from banks pursuing specific settlement and treasury objectives to issuers with their own distribution channels, such as Western Union, which launched USDPT on Solana on May 4 via Anchorage for 24/7 settlement with agents in 40+ countries.
To scale for demand, Anchorage has partnered with M0, a technology provider that enables global institutions to mint fully configurable stablecoins, the same infrastructure used by Moonpay and MetaMask. The signal is clear: institutional stablecoin issuance is no longer an isolated pilot project, it's a competitive race with a waiting list.
12 European banks choose Fireblocks to build regulated euro stablecoin under MiCA
In brief:
Qivalis formalizes Fireblocks as infrastructure for a euro stablecoin from 12 banks
99% of stablecoin market cap is dollar-denominated, euro stablecoins total just $650 million
Launch planned for H2 2026, with authorization through the Dutch central bank
The Qivalis consortium, comprising Banca Sella, BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen, SEB, and UniCredit, selected Fireblocks as infrastructure partner to build the first euro stablecoin issued by a banking consortium regulated under MiCA.
Fireblocks, which processed $6 trillion in stablecoin volume in 2025 with 300% year-over-year growth, will provide the complete tokenization and treasury management platform. Tokenization will feature integrated compliance controls, AML/KYC screening, and sanctions and fraud monitoring built directly into transaction flows, all designed to meet MiCA requirements.
The market context is what makes the move most significant. Despite global market cap exceeding $305 billion, 99% is dollar-denominated. Euro stablecoins account for just $650 million. The Qivalis consortium is, in practice, building Europe's answer to dollar digital dominance, with authorization expected through De Nederlandsche Bank and a launch in the second half of 2026. While the ECB debates whether private stablecoins pose a risk, 12 European banks have decided to build the alternative.
Fireblocks: 49% of global institutions already use stablecoins in payments
In brief:
Survey of 295 executives shows 90% of institutions are using or exploring stablecoins
58% of traditional banks use them for cross-border payments
54% of non-users plan to adopt within the next 6 to 12 months
Fireblocks published its "State of Stablecoins" report based on a survey of 295 executives from banks, financial institutions, fintechs, and payment gateways, 61% of them C-level. The headline figure: 49% of surveyed institutions already actively use stablecoins in payments, 23% are in the pilot phase, and 18% are in planning. Combined, 90% of institutions are taking concrete action on stablecoins.
Disaggregated data by segment shows where adoption is most mature: 58% of traditional banks use stablecoins specifically for cross-border payments, followed by 28% who use them to accept payments. The most cited benefit was settlement speed, named by 48% of respondents.
What connects the report to market reality is the intent data: 54% of institutions not yet using stablecoins plan to adopt within the next 6 to 12 months. We are no longer in the awareness cycle, we are in the execution cycle. For those building payments infrastructure, the demand pipeline is measurable and accelerating.
Visa expands stablecoin settlement pilot to Canada alongside Wealthsimple
In brief:
Wealthsimple is Visa's first USDC settlement partner in Canada
Pilot tests settling credit card transactions via stablecoin instead of bank transfer
Visa's global stablecoin settlement reaches an annualized run rate of $7 billion, up 50% quarter-over-quarter
Visa Canada and Wealthsimple announced a USDC settlement pilot in Canada, the first of its kind in the country. In practice, volunteer Wealthsimple employees used virtual US dollar credit cards to make purchases, and settlement between Visa and Wealthsimple occurred in USDC rather than through traditional bank transfer.
The pilot tests replacing the traditional 5-day settlement cycle with near-instant, 24/7 settlement at reduced cost. Wealthsimple, Canada's largest investment platform, positions itself as a strategic partner to validate that the model works in a regulated market outside the US.
The macro figure is what frames the opportunity: Visa's global stablecoin settlement program reached an annualized run rate of $7 billion, growing more than 50% in the last quarter. With 130+ stablecoin card issuance programs in 40+ countries, Visa is building the bridge between the existing payment system and digital infrastructure, and Canada just joined the map.
The past two weeks consolidate a pattern that can no longer be ignored: the stablecoin debate has left the whitepapers and entered the production pipeline. Twenty institutions are in line to issue their own stablecoins, 12 European banks are building the alternative to dollar dominance, 49% of global institutions are already operating with stablecoins in payments, and Visa is scaling USDC settlement to new markets. Meanwhile, the US Senate may decide as early as Thursday whether the country will have a complete digital asset framework.
See you next edition.
