Tether's longtime CFO and now its chairman, Giancarlo Devasini, keeps a low profile in the modest Swiss town of Lugano

Circle founder Jeremy Allaire, meanwhile, is comfortable rubbing shoulders with politicians and Wall Street executives, Berwick continued. The conflict is as much about ideology as it is about business

Recently stepped down as Tether's longtime CFO and now its chairman, Giancarlo Devasini keeps a low profile in the modest Swiss town of Lugano, according to the article by Angus Berwick.

Circle founder Jeremy Allaire, meanwhile, is comfortable rubbing shoulders with politicians and Wall Street executives, Berwick continued.

The conflict is as much about ideology as it is about business, writes Berwick. Tether embraces crypto's freewheeling ethos, while Circle is pushing for mainstream acceptance through regulation. "Circle will not win if Tether is alive," Devasini reportedly said months ago.

The outcome of this battle will shape the future of stablecoins. If regulators succeed in sidelining Tether, Circle's USDC could gain market share and bring stablecoins further into the traditional financial system.

If Tether survives, and it has shown resiliency in the past after navigating concerns surrounding its commercial paper reserves, it will reinforce crypto's ability to operate outside centralized influence. Either way, the stakes are high as crypto firms fight for dominance in an industry worth trillions.

Lawmakers have introduced three different bills targeting stablecoin regulation, including the Senate's GENIUS Act, the House's STABLE Act (introduced by Republicans) and the bill Ranking Member Maxine Waters and former Representative Patrick McHenry developed over the past few years.

Each of these bills would impose certain reserve and reporting requirements on stablecoin issuers, and a JP Morgan analysis suggests Tether may need to adjust its reserves to comply with these bills, if they become law. However, each bill is still in an early phase of the legislative effort, and it's unclear how long it might take for any of them to be passed through the House, Senate and signed by the president.

Allaire believes digital currency is a "technology superpower dollar"

According to Allaire, digital currency is a "technology superpower dollar" that will have profound implications for the United States and small businesses, he said in an interview on Fox's "Mornings with Maria" on Tuesday.

"We're in a competitive race with China, we're trying to find what economic system is going to win, what currency system is going to win. This is a technology superpower dollar that expands the role of the United States around the world."

At the same time, it can eliminate costs spent on fees to credit card companies or to send remittances overseas, making the impact of a digital currency much broader than just becoming the world's economic superpower.

"There's a real way to put money back in households' and small businesses' pockets as well."

Allaire called USDC "America's first digital dollar" given it is backed by the U.S. Dollar in the form of Treasury bills, repo and cash, and has been around and growing for over six years. He said that USDC powers trillions of dollars in transactions, including over $1 trillion a month and has seen 100% growth over the last 12 months.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Representative McHenry, and the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Bill Hagerty, announced plans on Tuesday to introduce bipartisan legislation this fall that would create a framework for regulating stablecoins.

McHenry, a Republican from Louisiana, and Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, said they have been working together to develop a bill that would provide clear rules for stablecoin issuers and promote innovation in the digital asset space.

"We need to provide certainty for the market and set up a framework for responsible innovation in this new technology," McHenry said in a statement.

Hagerty added that their bill would "help to ensure that the United States remains a global leader in the digital asset economy."

The lawmakers' plans come as Congress faces pressure to regulate stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of a traditional currency, such as the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins have become increasingly popular in recent years as a means of payment and investment.

Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced three different bills targeting stablecoin regulation: the GENIUS Act, introduced by the Senate Banking Committee chairman, Democrat Mark Warner, and the ranking member, Republican Tim Scott, of South Carolina; the STABLE Act, introduced by Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee; and a bill Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and former Representative Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., developed over the past few years.

Each of these bills would impose certain reserve and reporting requirements on stablecoin issuers, and a JP Morgan analysis suggests Tether may need to adjust its reserves to align with the provisions of these bills, if they become law.

However, each bill is still in an early phase of the legislative effort, and it's unclear how long it might take for any of them to be passed through the House, the Senate, and be signed by the president.