Draft cryptocurrency market structure legislation published Wednesday includes an ethics agreement that falls short of what Senate Democrats want and stablecoin yield language that banks have already disavowed.

As the regulatory landscape for digital assets becomes clearer, it is vital that stablecoin reserves, custody and settlement services, and the provision of liquidity not be concentrated within a small number of companies.

The recently announced consortium of crypto companies behind OpenUSD, a new dollar-denominated stablecoin, will have to demonstrate that it can build partnerships with banks and intermediaries before it can challenge USDC and Tether.

Just as internet connectivity destroyed the market for long-distance telephone service, blockchain technology is going to make high-margin transactions, like cross-border funds transfers, dirt cheap. Established players should brace themselves.

The banks now let institutional clients mint and redeem Circle's USDC directly, turning them into stablecoin infrastructure providers.

Seventeen banks, including BNY, Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Wells Fargo, will make tokenized cross-border payments as the messaging network looks to counter threats from digital asset fintechs.

To thrive in the new age of real-time payments, banks must invest in a continuous operating model that integrates payments, treasury and working capital into a seamless ecosystem.