Hi fintech fam 💜

Back home in NYC—and kicking off the week with a surprise stomach bug (yay). Resting up and recovering where I can.

Last week’s time in Mexico City was nothing short of transformative. A reminder to keep exploring, keep living, and stay curious—even when life feels chaotic.

I’m already back in the mix: last night, I spoke on a panel for Creator Economy NYC with Visa, diving into the highs and hard truths of building a creator-led business. I love sharing the lessons I’ve learned (and am still learning).

And next week, I’m recording a live episode of Humans of Fintech during an intimate dinner in NYC honoring women in finance and accounting. I’ve got a few seats left—apply to join us here if that sounds like your vibe.

Now, let’s get into today’s column.

INNOVATION

The GENIUS Act Is Here — Let’s Not Let History Repeat Itself

The GENIUS Act was signed into law on Friday, giving stablecoins their long-awaited regulatory green light in the U.S. financial system.

That may sound like just another Washington policy update. It’s not.

This is the official signal that dollar-backed digital assets are no longer fringe crypto experiments. They are becoming infrastructure. And if you work in fintech—whether as a founder, operator, investor, or policymaker—this marks a major turning point.

From Fringe to Front Row

Stablecoins—cryptocurrencies typically pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar—are about to go mainstream.

Think:

→ Savings accounts paying 4%+ (hello, Coinbase and PayPal)

→ Instant, fee-free global payments

→ Embedded finance rails that operate 24/7, no middlemen

The vision? Stablecoins powering a programmable, interoperable financial system that’s faster, cheaper, and more accessible for all.

The reality? That future is already taking shape—and the most powerful names in finance are in on it.

Big Banks, Big Moves

This month’s big bank earnings offered more than just balance sheets—they offered a preview of what’s next.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi all dropped signals that they’re building stablecoin strategies. But Citi CEO Jane Fraser laid it out the most clearly (and candidly).

“Digital assets are the next evolution in the broader digitization of payments, financing, and liquidity,” she said on Citi’s earnings call. “We’re already moving billions in transaction volume this year through Citi Token Services.”

Let’s pause there. That’s not speculation. That’s execution.

Fraser isn’t spinning up an R&D team. She’s overseeing a live product moving real money, built specifically to solve the pain points that stablecoins claim to fix—but without the crypto chaos.

Even more striking: she emphasized corporate demand. Clients want cross-border, always-on, multi-asset solutions—without the AML headaches and compliance friction. Citi is building the answer.

She called it “the killer app.”

And she added: “We don’t need another bank to do it.”

What Does This Mean for Us?

I’ve been covering digital assets for years—as a realist, not a maximalist. And as someone who’s always rooted for innovation but called out BS when I saw it.

Truthfully? Even I hadn’t taken stablecoins this seriously–until now.

This is no longer about speculative trading or crypto bros getting rich (or maybe it still is?). 

But now, it’s also about rebuilding core infrastructure—and we don’t get many chances to shape that kind of future.

Here’s the context fintech leaders can’t afford to ignore:

• Stablecoins are here to stay. From Circle to PayPal to Stripe and Robinhood, everyone’s playing the game. The only question is who owns the rails.
  

• Tokenization is next. Real-world assets (stocks, bonds, real estate) are being broken into digital tokens and traded like crypto. Robinhood is already tokenizing shares of SpaceX and OpenAI (with or without their consent).
  

• The regulatory window is open. The GENIUS Act unlocks opportunity—but also scrutiny. Laws are finally catching up to tech, which means we have a chance to build with rules and resilience in mind.

History, Repeating?

Now’s the time to zoom out—and remember the last time fintech scaled without the proper oversight.

→ The SVB collapse exposed how tech-forward firms misunderstood risk.

→ The crypto winter humbled everyone who thought decentralization meant “no accountability.”

→ And too few women, BIPOC founders, and non-VC insiders were invited into the room to help shape the guardrails.

We can’t afford another cycle like that.

Stablecoins and tokenized assets might unlock new wealth systems—but only if we embed equity and ethics from day one.

Otherwise, we’re not building the future. We’re just copying the past in prettier packaging.

What To Watch Next

As stablecoins shift from crypto curiosity to enterprise infrastructure, fintech leaders should be thinking beyond payments. The real transformation lies in how these assets get used:

• Remittances and cross-border payroll

• Yield-generating digital wallets

• B2B payments with instant settlement

• Programmable compliance and smart treasury

And don’t sleep on tokenized private markets. McKinsey projects $2 trillion in tokenized assets by 2030. That means equity access, secondary liquidity, and cap table transparency could become a whole new playing field.

But here’s your reminder: not all of this is good.

Just recently, Robinhood faced backlash for giving away tokenized shares in OpenAI—without OpenAI’s permission. That’s not innovation. That’s PR theater. We have to call that out, too.

Why Women Need to Lead This

Historically, the loudest voices in crypto have looked the same—and made the same mistakes.

But as fintech evolves into programmable money, the need for diverse leadership has never been greater. We need compliance experts, legal minds, ethical designers, risk leaders, and yes—more women building the next-gen financial stack.

Because if we’re not in the room, the same broken systems get rebuilt all over again.

TL;DR: The GENIUS Act is more than a crypto law. It’s a line in the sand.

Big banks are in. Fintech is adapting. Regulation is (finally) catching up. And the rails of finance are being rewritten in real time.

This is your call to get involved.

→ Don’t just “watch” stablecoins. Learn them.

→ Don’t just wait for use cases. Build them.

→ Don’t just trust others to get it right. Lead it yourself.

We’re not just observing history—we’re shaping it.

Let’s get to work. 

Sources: Axios, AP

_{WTF ELSE?}

• Block jumps after S&P 500 inclusion in new milestone for fintech

• Alix, a fintech startup using AI to automate the estate settlement process, announced its $20M Series A 

• Why JPMorgan is hitting fintechs with stunning new fees for data access 

• Financial literacy and decision-making: The impact of knowledge gaps on financial outcomes

_{I WANT IT, I GOT IT}

• 🎧 Today’s Listen: Last week on Fintech Mavericks: I sat down with Kevin Jurovich—former NFL player, wealth manager, and now founder of Hubble. In this episode, Kevin breaks down how his athlete mindset fuels his startup journey, what it really takes to build a business around expertise, and why the “pick your brain” economy is ready for a major upgrade. Tune in here or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 🚀 Today’s Watch: Definitely The Summer I Turned Pretty has taken over my watchlist with Season 3 dropping this week. It’s a classic coming-of-age romance, and I’m fully invested—I need to know how it all ends in the final season.

• 🧘‍♀️Today’s Self-Care: Walking—from Mexico City back to life in New York—has me feeling extra grateful for living in cities where I can step outside and actually engage with the world. Both are so walkable, vibrant, and alive. Moving through a place on foot keeps me grounded, curious, and honestly, healthier. Shoutout to hot girl walks. Go take one.

_FINTUNES

🎵 Olivia Dean - Nice To Each Other

Another new single for the summer from another powerhouse artist. Be sure to check this one out and add it to your vacay playlist.

_{LET’S CONNECT}

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That’s all for now! See you Thursday!

Love,

Nicole 💜