LOST PINES, Texas–With the GENIUS Act enacted and the countdown on for NCUA and regulators to get rules in place for stablecoins, credit unions were told it’s “go time” to begin preparing for a new technology that could “eat the lunch” of interchange.
The cautionary words came from Dr. Lamont Black, an associate professor at the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University, where among other things he teaches a graduate course on cryptocurrency, and who is also a fellow in Filene’s Credit Union of the Future Center of Excellence, and who s well-known to many in credit unions for his work and insights.
After several years of speaking to credit unions on crypto, he told Catalyst Corporate’s Strategic Summit meeting he has pivoted now due to the rapid change taking place, and in addition to talking about AI (see separate reporting in the CU Daily), he has a warning for CUs when it comes to another emerging technology.
Eating the Lunch of Payments
“I believe stablecoins are potentially going to eat the lunch of the existing payment rails,” said Dr. Lamont Black. “I’m not saying its going to be a 1:1 replacement, but the potential for disruption is incredible. The GENIUS Act, if you have not wrapped your head around it, is super-charging stablecoins.”
Black stressed several times that in his view no credit union can afford to be in “wait and see” mode when it comes to thinking about and planning for widespread usage of stablecoins.
“It’s go time,” he said.
What’s missing in many strategic plans and planning sessions is the broad move from centralized to decentralized systems, said Black, noting it is the latter that is the concept behind stablecoins.
Money as Data
What does that mean? Black said if something is digital, it is data.
“I want you to start thinking about money as data,” Black said. “The money in paper and metals in your vaults is miniscule to the money on your core systems, where it lives as zeros and ones. That paradigm is challenging. Assets are data. You produce nothing physical. Credit unions and networks are a database to store and process data. Is this the best way to store and process data? I would argue it is not.”
Following the passage of the GENIUS Act, Black said stablecoins have become the leading crypto use-case.
“No one is talking about Bitcoin and crypto anymore in credit unions,” said Black, who in recent years has frequently spoken to credit union groups on both topics.
Stablecoins are a form of crypto, Black explained before introducing a concept he calls MAP: Money, Access and Platform.”
What Makes it Different
“What makes the blockchain different is that it is a decentralized platform (on Web 3). It’s a public network, it is self-governed and has no hierarchy,” he said. “It is similar in that way to the Internet, which is also not owned by anyone and operates on a set of agreed-upon rules. Blockchain is an agreed-upon system for transferring value on the Internet. Crypto is an application of the blockchain with two different uses cases: money and asset.”
Black said credit unions need to be having conversations around the money use-case, and acknowledged all of this requires people to think of money in ways they never have.
As he further explained, stablecoins are introducing a new concept of money that are backed by fiat currency, which he said is similar to how the dollar was backed by a precious commodity when on the gold standard up until 1971.
No More Paying 3%
“Is the future of money 3% on everything?” he asked, referring to transaction and interchange fees. “I don’t think so. The future is not cashless, it’s digital cash…This is the tokenization of the dollar. The GENIUS Act requires a 1:1 tokenization of the dollar.”
“This is a paradigm shift in how you store and process data,” said Black. “I think people have not yet woken up to what has happened with the GENIUS Act.”
The rulemaking for the GENIUS Act is now underway, said Black, who recently led a stablecoin webinar for NCUA examiners. The agency has until July 2026 to put the rulemaking in place, with implementation by January of 2027.
The Future of Interchange
What should really have the attention of credit unions, according to Black, is that stablecoins are an alternative payment rail. Stablecoins use a shared database, unlike other payment rails that use unshared databases that must find ways to talk to each other.
Among the biggest and unknown questions, he said, is how stablecoins will affect interchange fees.
“This is the primary question credit unions should be asking themselves,” Black advised. “If stablecoins interrupt the card networks, what happens to your interchange fees? Amazon and Walmart saying they plan to issue their own stablecoins. Ask yourself what percentage of your card transactions are taking place at Amazon and Walmart? It’s not incremental. They want to eliminate merchant interchange fees. This might feel far away, but you know Amazon is game-on in January 2027. That means your members are going to be using a stablecoin instead of your card.”
Some credit unions, such as St. Cloud Financial and Credit Union of Texas, have announced plans for their own stablecoins.
The Role of CUs & A Big Question
For most credit unions, however, Black said he believes their role will be more custodial. But that leads to another question: “Can my members receive, store and send stablecoins at my credit union? “If not, they will go somewhere else.
“What is your stablecoin strategy in 2026 and 2027?” he continued. “This is not wait and see. Decentralized systems are here. Credit unions need a stablecoin strategy. You need wone to remain relevant to retain your members.”
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