GENIUS Act, Card Rewards Tilt Toward Bitcoin and Stablecoins
How the new U.S. stablecoin regulatory framework is nudging issuers toward crypto-linked incentives.
Research suggests that integrating traditional derivatives from established markets into crypto exchanges can enhance liquidity, risk management, and market maturity. However, it introduces regulatory complexities and potential barriers for smaller players. It seems likely that this trend will accelerate mainstream adoption of crypto, but evidence leans toward increased scrutiny from regulators like the SEC and EU bodies, potentially slowing innovation for crypto-native startups while benefiting established platforms. Benefits include better hedging tools and legitimacy, but challenges involve compliance costs and competition from traditional finance.
This article will expand upon what CanHav’s Research suggests.
How the GENIUS Act shapes card rewards
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act created the first federal framework for payment stablecoins, setting reserve, disclosure, and supervision requirements. This regulatory clarity, outlined in the White House documentation and the official record on Congress.gov, has encouraged issuers to rethink loyalty design. Instead of closed, devaluatable points, more programs are testing market-priced assets (bitcoin) and reserve-backed tokens (stablecoins), a shift that changes breakage math, liability accounting, and who bears price volatility. Senate passage on June 17, 2025 and subsequent enactment lowered policy uncertainty.
One early mover is Fold, which is preparing a bitcoin-rewards credit card on Visa, powered by Stripe Issuing, advertising up to 3.5% back in BTC, a base 2% with a path to 3.5% under specific repayment behavior. On the infrastructure side, Stripe has completed its acquisition of Bridge (Feb 4, 2025), signaling continued stablecoin enablement inside mainstream payment stacks.
Crypto-denominated rewards aren’t new. Venmo added Cash-Back-to-Crypto auto-conversions in 2021. Gemini launched a Mastercard crypto rewards card in 2022. In 2025, Coinbase announced the Coinbase One Card on the American Express network with up to 4% bitcoin back, evidence that as regulatory uncertainty falls for USD-pegged stablecoins, appetite grows to pay out in crypto, either directly in BTC or via stablecoin-denominated rewards emphasizing portability and pricing transparency.
How the rewards flow works
A purchase clears on Visa rails; interchange accrues to the issuer/partner stack; the program converts value into BTC (via liquidity providers or program treasury) before crediting the user. From that point, users bear bitcoin price volatility and can hold, sell, or withdraw, per program terms.
Why this could reshape loyalty economics
Traditional programs rely on breakage and periodic devaluation. Bitcoin rewards are market-priced, which limits issuer-driven devaluation but shifts market risk to users. Stablecoin-based designs peg value to reserves, improving portability and transparency while introducing dependencies around reserve quality, custody, and compliance. Unit economics hinge on interchange margins, FX/crypto conversion spreads, treasury practices, and compliance costs under the GENIUS framework and network rules.
Bottom line
With the GENIUS Act reducing policy friction, issuers are increasingly testing crypto-linked rewards alongside traditional points. Expect more pilots as networks and processors standardize compliance and settlement, especially where bitcoin can differentiate earn economics and stablecoins can simplify value accounting.
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