Tether hits $160B market cap milestone as US GENIUS act threatens stablecoin dominance through mandatory third-party audits.

Tether faces tough choices under the GENIUS Act, which mandates transparency for stablecoin issuers in the US, or risk being banned.

Experts say the legislation could unleash a tidal wave of new stablecoins—and fresh complaints about President Trump's crypto entanglements.

However, Tether has never completed a full, independent audit. This remains a major red flag. The GENIUS Act now brings that issue back into the spotlight. The question now isn’t whether the U.S. wants transparency – it’s whether Tether can survive it. The GENIUS Act leaves Tether with three options.

The GENIUS Act prompted Ripple and Circle to apply for U.S. bank charters as Congress cleared new stablecoin regulations.