Americas

Overview

The US anchors the hemisphere

The big picture: The US GENIUS Act is the anchor regulation for the Western hemisphere — and as of March 26, 2026, Canada has followed suit with its own Stablecoin Act (Bill C-15), deliberately mirroring GENIUS Act provisions to create a North American regulatory corridor. Brazil is Latin America's largest stablecoin market with an active central bank consultation.

Why it matters: Two of the three North American economies now have comprehensive stablecoin legislation with aligned reserve, redemption, and disclosure requirements. Dollar-denominated stablecoins dominate the region, and the GENIUS Act's federal framework is actively exporting regulatory standards northward — with Canada's QCAD designed for interoperability with US-regulated USDC.

Analysis

Key themes

• Dollar stablecoin dominance: USDT and USDC account for 95%+ of LatAm stablecoin volume, driven by dollar demand and remittance flows. This makes US regulatory decisions disproportionately impactful across the hemisphere.
• Regulatory arbitrage: The GENIUS Act's federal floor may reduce state-by-state licensing friction — currently, money transmitter licenses are required in each state, creating a compliance burden that favors large incumbents.
• Dollarization concern: Brazil and Argentina regulators worry stablecoins accelerate informal dollarization — undermining monetary policy transmission and local currency demand, particularly during inflationary periods.
• Remittances: Stablecoins are competing with Western Union and MoneyGram corridors across US-Mexico, US-Brazil, and US-Colombia routes — offering faster settlement and lower fees, but without the consumer protections of traditional remittance regulation.
• North American regulatory corridor: Canada's Stablecoin Act (March 2026) deliberately mirrors the GENIUS Act — same yield prohibition, same redemption rights, aligned reserve requirements. The QCAD + Deloitte + VersaBank stack is designed as a "plug-and-play" bridge for Canada's Big Five banks, with USDC interoperability built in from day one.
• Monetary sovereignty defense: Canada's framework is explicitly designed to prevent its economy from becoming overly reliant on USD-denominated stablecoins. QCAD represents a CAD-native alternative that maintains Bank of Canada oversight while remaining interoperable with US-regulated tokens.