The U.S. stablecoin market may tilt further toward large issuers as a July 18 deadline approaches for finalising detailed rules under the GENIUS Act. The regime would require high-liquidity reserves, monthly verification, licensing and anti-money laundering systems. Industry participants say the rules could raise barriers for smaller issuers because many compliance costs are largely fixed. The law also bans paying interest simply for holding tokens, shifting issuer profitability toward reserve returns and distribution reach.

EtherFi has proposed deploying its own Aave V4 lending system on OP Mainnet. It applied through a temp check to launch a white-label Aave V4 instance that would serve as credit backend infrastructure for its Visa card product, EtherFi Cash. The new instance would share liquidity with Aave but remain separated from other markets. EtherFi would handle configuration, risk parameters, liquidity and operations, while Aave would provide deployment and operating licences and take a fee from revenue.