Ethereum’s native token ether (ETH), is gaining ground against bitcoin (BTC), as the impending GENUIS Act is likely to ban yield-bearing stablecoins that promise interest-like returns, according to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research.

The Binance-listed ether-bitcoin ratio, representing ether’s BTC-denominated price, rose over 5.96% to 0.02670 on Tuesday, registering its best performance since May 13, according to data source TradingView.

The upswing marked a bullish resolution to the multi-week range play and suggests continued ether outperformance ahead. Ether’s dollar-denominated price rose over 4%, topping $3,100 for the first time since February.

According to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, the key driver for ether’s price surge is seemingly the growing anticipation that the GENUIS Act, or the U.S. stablecoin bill, will pass, restricting U.S. stablecoin issuers from paying interest.

«That would potentially reinforce Ethereum’s importance within the digital asset ecosystem,» Thielen said in a client note shared with CoinDesk.

Thielen added that the GENUIS Act has put the spotlight on Ethena’s $5 billion synthetic dollar USDe, which achieves delta-hedging or cash and carry arbitrage by shorting perpetual futures equivalent to the amount of ETH received from users as collateral. That’s how it generates yield on USDe.

The long-prevailing theory is that the shorting operation adds to bearish pressures in the futures market and caps basis, the gap between futures and spot prices.

«Ethena currently represents about 4% of Ethereum’s $26 billion open interest, and by consistently selling futures, it has exerted downward pressure on ETH prices,» Thielen said.

Ethena has already reached out to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek clarity on synthetic dollars, such as the USDe. The team reportedly argued that the synthetic dollar functions as a payment instrument rather than a security and falls outside the scope of the GENUIS Act and the STABLE Act, which regulate payment stablecoin issuers.

Ethena is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, with new dollar inflows primarily coming from outside the U.S. So, it remains to be seen how it fits the evolving regulatory picture in the U.S.

«If Ethena were to comply with the U.S. stablecoin bill, it could be forced to stop buying Ethereum altogether. However, the market may be interpreting this dynamic differently—ENA-USDT continues to rally, supported by rising Ethereum funding rates,» Thielen said.

The GENIUS Act, which got the Senate approval in June with bipartisan support, is expected to head for a floor vote in the House by Thursday.

Read more: U.S. Senate Passes GENIUS Act to Regulate Stablecoins, Marking Crypto Industry Win

The U.S. is on the verge of passing landmark crypto legislation, and if it succeeds, the impact could be profound, not only by unlocking growth, but by significantly reducing risk, asset manager Bitwise said in a report on Monday.

The growth story is straightforward according to Bitwise. Regulatory clarity would empower major financial institutions, such as JPMorgan (JPM), BNY Mellon (BK), Nasdaq (NDAQ), to fully build in crypto, the report said.

That means billions in new investment and a path to migrate trillions of traditional assets onto blockchain rails. The infrastructure is ready; it just needs Washington’s go-ahead, according to the asset manager.

This week the House of Representatives is voting on the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill, and the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoins in the U.S.
Yesterday, the top democrat of the Senate Agriculture committee said the market structure bill needs serious changes.

If these bills pass through Congress, «you can’t put the genie back in the bottle,» wrote Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise.

The deeper, under appreciated shift will be in risk, wrote Hougan. Crypto’s reputation has been battered by collapses including FTX, Terra/Luna, 3AC, Celsius, Mt. Gox. These weren’t just failures of business models; they were failures of oversight. Without clear U.S. regulation, bad actors thrived in offshore shadows, and investors paid the price.

Stronger laws wouldn’t have prevented every scandal, but they would’ve stopped many, the report said.

Bitwise notes that crypto’s volatility, and previous 70%+ drawdowns, have kept institutions on the sidelines. If legislation eliminates the wildcard risk of offshore implosions, those extreme crashes may become far less frequent.

And no, the political winds aren’t likely to reverse, Bitwise said. The GENIUS Act passed the Senate 68–30, with bipartisan support including 18 Democrats.

Wall Street wants in, and as major institutions deepen their crypto footprints, political support will only grow. When BlackRock, JPMorgan, and millions of Americans are invested, crypto becomes part of the system, too embedded to ignore, and too integral to unwind, the report added.

Read more: Bitwise Adds Proof of Reserves for Bitcoin, Ether ETFs

Mary-Catherine Lader, President and COO of Uniswap Labs, has stepped down after four years leading the development company behind one of the most prominent decentralized exchanges (DEX).

A former BlackRock executive, Lader joined Uniswap in 2021 to help bridge traditional finance and decentralized protocols.

During her tenure, Uniswap Labs expanded the protocol’s reach across multiple blockchains, launched its own mobile wallet, and matured into an infrastructure provider relied on by institutions, developers, and retail users alike. A successor has not been named.

Her exit also comes at a time when Uniswap’s regulatory standing has stabilized after facing multiple challenges over the past year.

In April 2024, the company received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signaling potential enforcement action over alleged unregistered broker and exchange activity.

Later, in September 2024, Uniswap Labs settled with the CFTC, agreeing to pay a $175,000 fine for illegally offering leveraged digital asset derivatives through its interface, specifically, tokenized products that the agency deemed margined commodity contracts.

Since then, the broader U.S. policy environment has shifted. Under President Donald Trump, the White House has thrown its support behind crypto via the GENIUS Act, a proposed national bitcoin reserve, and calls for “clear and simple” regulatory frameworks.

Trump has described himself as the “crypto president,” and Congressional momentum is building around market structure legislation. Lader departs with Uniswap standing strong, anchored by over $5.3 billion in total value locked, according to DeFi Llama.