Good morning. Bitcoin crossed US$120,000 for the first time as Congress opened debate on a set of bills that could mark the most significant policy shift in crypto’s history. That’s in focus today – along with the potential fallout from a sweeping copper tariff.
Up first
In the news
Dairy: U.S. dairy exporters are demanding Canada rewrite its rules around who can import cheese, milk and other products as President Donald Trump threatens to impose a 35-per-cent tariff on Canadian goods beginning Aug. 1.
Retail: Hudson’s Bay Co. is headed back to court this morning to fight a motion from some of its senior lenders, who are seeking to terminate a controversial deal to sell off former Bay store leases to B.C. billionaire Weihong (Ruby) Liu.
Real estate: An American real estate company that owns luxury rental apartment towers in New York City is trying to go public in Canada. GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust is launching a US$410-million initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On our radar
It’s a data-heavy day in Canada, with June housing starts and the consumer price index both out this morning.
Donald Trump addresses a crypto conference in Nashville last July. (He’s for it.)Kevin Wurm/Reuters
In focus
The week crypto got real
Republicans have declared this “crypto week” in Washington, bringing digital assets out of the margins and into the heart of U.S. legislative debate.
Hearings over three key bills mark a milestone for crypto prices and its would-be regulators, who now regard the sector as embedded in the architecture of global finance.
Sizing up stablecoin
At the centre of this week’s debate is the Genius Act, a bill that would introduce a federal framework for stablecoins – blockchain’s version of digital cash, and the asset pulling crypto into the financial mainstream.
- Stablecoins are “increasingly bridging the divide between traditional banking systems and the world of cryptocurrencies,” the World Economic Forum said in a report last month.
- Under the new rules, issuers would be required to hold full reserves, undergo audits and register formally.
- Democrats argue the Genius Act is the result of heavy lobbying and tipped in the crypto industry’s favour – and that it risks bringing premature legitimacy without first addressing issues around fraud, volatility, and misuse in the sector.
- Still, it passed the Senate with bipartisan support last month.
- The “genius” in question here is acronymic: “Guiding and Establishing Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.”
The bill has the support of Trump, who embraced the “crypto president” persona and pushed for a U.S. digital asset reserve.
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” he said during a speech at last July’s Bitcoin Conference in Nashville.
Building a blockchain legacy
It’s certainly become a big part of Trump’s future. His family controls a token – $TRUMP – that reached a US$15-billion market cap on its first day this year before falling to about $2-billion.
Buyers of the coin probably weren’t pleased by the bath – even though “meme coins” like this don’t have the most successful track record – but Trump has cast himself as the industry’s defender, and protecting that image matters to his brand.
After campaigning on crypto to court its believers and the capital they bring – hosting bitcoin miners at Mar-a-Lago and accepting crypto donations – his next chapter could be funded, in part, on the blockchain.
- Senate Democrats have proposed legislation that would bar public officials from launching or promoting digital assets. Trump denies he’s doing anything wrong.
What are stablecoins?
Digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, they’re designed for stability, making them a fast and low-cost way to transfer value across borders.
Stablecoins are typically issued by companies like Tether and Circle, which hold real-world assets – mostly U.S. dollars or Treasuries – to back every token in circulation and maintain the peg. Together, the two account for about 85 per cent of the market, though new entrants are on the way.
They’re easier to move around the world – low fees, relatively steady yields – and more convenient than the physical dollar or even the one sitting in your online chequing account. Inside the crypto world, they’re used to trade, lend, and settle transactions without converting back to cash.
- In countries with unstable currencies such as Argentina and Turkey, stablecoins offer a hedge against inflation.
- And one for the libertarians: Using stablecoins does not require the services of a bank. (Although purists argue regulation of any kind is antithetical to the spirit of crypto. You can’t win with some people.)
Is it killing good ol’ fashioned fiat currency?
Not any time soon, if ever. For one thing, “stable” doesn’t mean ”risk-free”. Without oversight, there’s no mechanism to prevent sudden mass withdrawals or ripple effects across the broader market.
- Traditional currencies, by contrast, are backed by central banks, subject to strict regulation, and protected by mechanisms like deposit insurance and emergency liquidity – guardrails stablecoins generally lack.
- The Genius Act aims to address those gaps by requiring greater transparency from issuers and mandating that stablecoins be backed by fully auditable reserves.
- Most stablecoins are still used for trading, not spending. About 90 per cent of stablecoin volume today is tied to crypto transactions, not everyday purchases.
- Stablecoins have limited merchant acceptance. Without broad uptake at checkout, they remain functionally niche.
What comes next
Niche, but consequential. Passage of these U.S. bills could give stablecoin and crypto platforms long-sought regulatory clarity and attract institutional investment – effectively bringing crypto further into the mainstream financial system.
For Canada, the U.S. momentum creates both opportunity and pressure. Industry leaders are urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to move faster on a national crypto strategy. But while Carney has expressed support for digital innovation, his past warnings about private cryptocurrencies suggest a more cautious path than some in the sector might prefer.
Charted
Quebec’s copper hit
Quebec is bracing for a hit from Trump’s proposed 50 per cent copper tariff because it supplies the bulk of Canada’s copper exports to the U.S. The combined impact of metals tariffs could expose more than 3 per cent of the province’s GDP – twice the share of any other province.
Bookmarked
On our reading list
Keller: What the stock market’s ‘TACO trade’ is missing about what Trump is serving up.
Bruinsma: Students are finding it hard to get summer jobs. Here’s what else they can do.
Carlson: Emperor Elon Musk is having a bad time entirely of his own making.
Morning update
Global markets edged mostly higher as investors eyed key U.S. earnings, inflation data from both sides of the border and continuing trade talks. Wall Street futures were mixed, while TSX futures pointed higher.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.31 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 eased 0.06 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.26 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.22 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.55 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.6 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 73.09 U.S. cents.
