Upgrading the "ancient" financial system with crypto by 2028: Is Trump on the right track?

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump committed to upgrading the “21st-century” payment system without the need to deploy central bank digital currency (CBDC), placing the GENIUS Act at the center of the plan. The law has been passed, but the operational regulations are still not complete.

In July, Trump praised the crypto industry:

“This industry has developed faster than anyone else. No one has gained credibility in such a short time.”

He also made a big promise:

“Many Americans do not know that the infrastructure of the financial system has been outdated for decades… but payments and money transfers are still costly and take many days, even weeks. This law will allow for a complete upgrade of the old system with modern crypto technology… This will increase the demand for US bonds, lower interest rates, and strengthen the position of the USD as the global reserve currency for generations to come.”

Trump also asserted that stablecoins help protect the USD: he “will not let the USD depreciate,” because with a smart president, “you never let the USD depreciate.” When he spoke, the USD had fallen 12% since January; then it rebounded by 3% in the following months. During the period of USD decline, Bitcoin surged; now the USD is recovering, and Bitcoin is going down.

Bitcoin compared to the dollar in 2025 (Source: TradingView)## GENIUS Act and the implementation process

On September 18, the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched the GENIUS Act with a consultation notice regarding the licensing of stablecoin issuance, capital and liquidity requirements, as well as defining the permissible activities of banks. This is the first step towards mandatory standards, allowing banks and payment companies to issue fully backed stablecoins under federal oversight.

Trump emphasized upgrading the “ancient” system without building a CBDC. In January, he signed an executive order banning CBDC; similar bills have passed the House but have not yet become law. The policy direction is clear, but implementation details are still pending.

The banking sector is also receiving positive signals: OCC, Fed, and FDIC have “revived” and loosened the “prior approval” regulations for custody, stablecoin, and DLT payment activities, helping to reduce friction when GENIUS is implemented. OCC has also issued guidance on digital banking operations, clearly outlining the path for stablecoin projects and payment services.

Payment Speed and Competition

Current payment networks are also not standing still. According to FedNow statistics, in Q3 2025, the network processed 2.5 million payments with a total value of 307 billion USD. The RTP network alone handled 481 billion USD in Q2, with a record 1.81 million transactions worth 5.2 billion USD in a single day. SWIFT GPI currently reaches 90% of cross-border transactions to the destination bank within 1 hour.

Regarding crypto, the competitive advantages focus on: 24/7 operations, weekend and cross-border payments, programmability, and capital efficiency. Visa and Mastercard have expanded stablecoin payment capabilities, integrating into the payment acceptance system without changing the user experience. Experiments with fintech have shown that these networks have operated at a limited scale.

GENIUS, stablecoin and USD strategy

The strategy of GENIUS is based on reserves fully backed by bonds and US cash. When issued and distributed under federal authorization, the stablecoin will create continuous demand for short-term bonds of 1–3 months, reinforcing the distribution of USD globally.

There are two directions: public stablecoins or tokenized deposits issued by banks. The future system may use FedNow, RTP, SWIFT GPI, while stablecoins remain a separate crypto infrastructure. The outcome depends on regulations regarding bank access, capital, liquidity, and how card networks price weekend payments or foreign exchange.

Implementation Reality

Currently, Trump has set the direction but has not built a complete system. The FedNow, RTP, and SWIFT GPI networks are still expanding in parallel; the GENIUS standard is still under consultation; banks do not yet have full capital and liquidity standards; implementation by new payment acceptors is in the testing phase.

Even with an aggressive roadmap, key steps—the final rule, balance sheet treatment, cross-border payment expansion—will occur in 2026 or later. The practical result is a layered system where stablecoins and tokenized deposits handle foundational payments, while cards and bank transfers remain the user experience.

Conclusion

Trump is on the right track to influence how the new generation payment system is built, but “completely replacing” the old system is still an ongoing project, not yet a reality. Key observation points: GENIUS regulations, bank capital/liquidity standards, daily and network-based stablecoin payment sharing. Crypto is emerging as the payment infrastructure, while user experience remains familiar.

Thạch Sanh