Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, has been making the same argument for years now: the Securities and Exchange Commission has no business being the primary regulator for stablecoins. His preferred alternative is the same set of banking regulators that already oversee the institutions stablecoins are designed to complement.
The case against SEC oversight
Allaire has been vocal about this mismatch since at least February 2023, arguing that banking regulators are better equipped to handle oversight of products designed to move money, not speculate on value. His logic is straightforward: if stablecoins act like digital dollars in payment systems, regulate them like digital dollars in payment systems.
Circle backs this argument with its own operational posture. USDC maintains full reserves backed by cash and short-term US Treasuries, with independent attestations verifying those holdings. With USDC circulation hovering near $80 billion, Circle isn’t some scrappy startup making idealistic arguments about regulatory philosophy. It’s one of the largest stablecoin issuers on the planet, and its compliance framework already mirrors what banking oversight would demand.
The GENIUS Act changes the game
