Kevin O'Leary: Traditional forex and payment platforms "hate" the adoption of stablecoins

Source: Cointelegraph Original: "Kevin O’Leary: Traditional foreign exchange and payment platforms "hate" the adoption of stablecoins"

Investor Kevin O'Leary pointed out in his keynote speech at Consensus 2025 that global foreign exchange and payment platforms are actively lobbying against stablecoins, as stablecoins could significantly disrupt their existing business models.

At the conference held in Toronto, O'Leary stated that traditional foreign exchange and payment platforms often charge high fees for cross-border money transfer services, and if regulated stablecoins are accepted as a more cost-effective and faster alternative, these platforms will face revenue losses.

"Currency trading is a market worth trillions of dollars - it is outdated, complex, and inefficient," O'Leary stated, adding, "the biggest threat to this monopoly or oligopoly is regulated stablecoins."

"Once approved, the multi-trillion-dollar foreign exchange market will become efficient, transparent and significantly less costly," he said.

O'Reilly added that the bill being pushed by U.S. lawmakers is expected to accelerate the adoption of global stablecoins.

U.S. senators plan to pass the so-called "Genius Act" – a regulatory framework for stablecoins – by the end of May. "Once the SEC approves the stablecoin bill, every regulator within the U.S. regulatory system — Abu Dhabi, Switzerland, the U.K. — will follow," O'Leary said.

"Who is worried about this development? The financial services industry. They are extremely opposed to this idea and are doing everything they can to prevent the passage of the bill," he further pointed out.

O'Leary believes that the clarification of stablecoin regulation could be a precursor to broader cryptocurrency reform, which has the potential to unleash trillions of dollars in institutional capital.

"When these regulations are introduced, people will see significant improvements and significant progress in consumer protection, bankruptcy protection, and ethics," U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said at an event hosted by Stand with Crypto, a Coinbase lobbying arm.

According to data from CoinGecko, as of May 15, the total market capitalization of stablecoins is close to $250 billion. Tether (USDT) is the market leader with a market cap of approximately $150 billion. Following closely is USDC, issued by Circle, which is another stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, with a market cap exceeding $60 billion.

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