Fidelity Investments has begun adjusting fund structures to anticipate the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin framework that advanced through the U.S. Senate in mid-2025, Yahoo Finance reported.

The asset manager's positioning illustrates how incumbent finance firms are operationalizing compliance for an emerging digital-asset regime. Fidelity operates one of the largest crypto-asset fund complexes in the United States, including the spot Bitcoin ETF that launched in January 2024.

What does the GENIUS Act establish?

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, commonly called the GENIUS Act, cleared the U.S. Senate in June 2025 by a bipartisan margin. It now awaits action in the House of Representatives.

The legislation creates the first federal regulatory framework for "payment stablecoins" — digital tokens designed to maintain a fixed value relative to a fiat currency, typically the U.S. dollar.

Core provisions, as described in the bill text and committee summaries:

• 1:1 reserve requirements backed by high-quality liquid assets
• Mandatory redemption at face value within one business day
• A federal charter pathway supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, alongside existing state regimes
• Periodic audits and public reserve disclosures
• Anti-yield mechanisms barring issuers from paying interest to holders

The framework excludes algorithmic stablecoins and tokens classified as securities, leaving those categories under existing SEC and CFTC jurisdiction.

How is Fidelity repositioning?

Fidelity's adjustments center on prospectus language, custody arrangements, and permissible-holdings disclosures across its fund lineup, according to Yahoo Finance. The firm is preparing compliance well before any statutory effective date.

The practical questions for fund operators are concrete:

• Whether stablecoins qualify as cash equivalents under Rule 2a-7
• Which custody vehicles satisfy fiduciary duties
• How stablecoin holdings are reflected in NAV calculations

Fidelity has invested heavily in digital-asset infrastructure, including Fidelity Digital Assets, the custody and trading arm it established in 2018 to serve institutional and high-net-worth clients.

What does the new perimeter mean for stablecoin issuers?

The GENIUS Act imposes uniform disclosure and capital standards on issuers currently operating under heterogeneous state money-transmitter licenses. The dollar stablecoin market exceeds $200 billion in circulating supply, with USDC and USDT together accounting for the overwhelming majority. Federal oversight of that float would extend banking-style prudential standards to issuers for the first time.

Circle, issuer of USDC, has publicly stated its existing reserve and attestation practices already meet or exceed the federal framework. Tether faces more direct compliance work given its offshore corporate structure and limited prior engagement with U.S. regulators.

Bank issuers including JPMorgan, Citi, and a consortium of regional banks have explored proprietary stablecoin products that would qualify under the federal charter option. The framework gives those entrants a defined onboarding path that previously did not exist.

What happens next on the legislative calendar?

The bill's fate now sits with the House, where committees have signaled willingness to take up the legislation. If signed into law, the statute typically allows 18 to 24 months for implementing rulemaking by federal banking agencies.

That window gives asset managers a defined runway to update fund documents, custody agreements, and operational procedures. Fidelity's early disclosure adjustments indicate the firm is treating enactment as a base-case scenario rather than a contingency, with House floor action likely in the second half of 2025 and OCC rulemaking following shortly after signature.