FAIRBANKS, Alaska–Credit union leaders were given an update and overview on what’s happening with stablecoin.
In remarks that took place on the same day as NCUA announced new rulemaking related to stablecoins, Eric Couillard, VP-digital assets with Fiserv, told the Alaska Credit Union League meeting that a stablecoin is simply a “digital dollar whose supply is one to one with its reserve. They are instant, borderless and programable and they have a stable value.”
Couillard reminded that a stablecoin is not a bitcoin, and credit union leaders should understand the difference.
Role of GENIUS Act
The NCUA proposal comes in the wake of passage of the GENIUS Act, which Couillard said matters to credit unions for the following reasons:
- Increasing competition from fintechs and large Fis that are leveraging stablecoin to disrupt banking relationships.
- Opportunity to defend deposits and payment relationships, and modernized payments infrastructure.
- Opportunity to leverage FI inherent advantages, such as native- real-time money movement, existing deposit relationships. And FI safety and soundness.
“The stablecoin market has experienced rapid growth, hitting $300 billion in April 2026, with a projected trajectory towards a $1.2-$2 trillion market by 2028,” Couillard noted.
The Driver
What’s driving all this?
“It’s a great question,” said Couillard. “Quite frankly, the main reason is regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act.”
The GENIUS Act, Couillard explained, lays out how banks and certain types of nonbanks can become payment stablecoin issuers as well as how foreign issuers can offer stablecoins in the U.S.
“Most importantly, stablecoin issuers are part of the regulated industry,” he explained, noting the GENIUS Act requires stablecoins to have 100% reserve backing (USD, T-bills +03 days, or equivalent.
The FI Response
How should traditional financial institutions view what’s happening?
According to Couillard “It’s not about replacing your payments system, it’s about extending them.”
He said there are six characteristics of an institution that has a successful stablecoin strategy:
- Stablecoins are embedded in existing systems
- Unique real-time mint/burn/send and receive
- Unique reserve structure preserves deposits
- Streamlined deployment for Fis, such as credit unions
- Maximum interoperability (planned support of third-party wallets and other compliant stablecoins)
- Platform approach that grows with credit union as the market evolves
“The key here is your members never have to leave your ecosystem all through one platform,” he said noting Fiserv has built out such an ecosystem.
But what about concerns that stablecoins replace ACH, RTP or other payment platforms?
“In my opinion, the answer is no,” said Couillard. “What we want to do is use stablecoins to complement the 80% of the volume going through your payment system and use stablecoin for the other 20% that requires lower costs and greater speed.
The Main Use Case: Cross Border
Couillard said cross-border payments is the use-case where the benefits of stablecoins “is very clear.”
As an example, Couillard shared s treasurer sending $50,000 overseas, which currently requires days and comes with high costs. The stablecoin transfer simplifies the payments flow and is much faster and much cheaper, he said.
Other use cases, he said, involve local currency payout, stablecoin exit to Coinbase Wallet or PayPal Wallet
Asked by an audience member about safeguards around scams in stablecoins, Couillard responded, “Many controls are built into the smart contract itself, including OFAC, KYC, identity checking and more, done at the point of transaction before there is any money movement.”’
