Patrick Witt: Presidential Advisor on Stablecoins, Agentic Commerce, and Digital Identity

Transcript

I'm Justin Freriedman, head of policy at Stablecon. This is a special edition of the Stable Pulse recorded live on stage at Stablecon USA in Washington DC on September 10th, 2026, where I had the privilege of interviewing Patrick Wit, who coordinates policy on digital assets at the White House. Patrick shared his read on how the barely one-year-old Genius Act is already enabling the stable coin marketplace. I also asked for his perspective on non US dollar stable coin issuance as well as the transformative potential for Agentic commerce and the need to modernize digital identity to keep up. Finally, I couldn't let him go without asking for Patrick's whip count on the crypto

market structure legislation known as the Clarity Act, which is yet to become law. With that, let's turn to the interview. >> Good morning, everyone. It is an honor to welcome Patrick Wit, executive director of the President's Council of Adviserss for Digital Assets. Few people in Washington have been as central to all of the legislative activity, rulemaking and policym related to stable coins and digital assets more broadly than Patrick Whit who has been staffing the White House and advising the president on these issues for a year

and a half and has a a pretty exciting moment coming up in a few days which we'll get to. So Patrick, welcome. >> Thank you. Thank you for having me. >> You're the president's key adviser on digital assets and this president has made crypto a major priority for his administration. So what is your most significant accomplishment so far? Well, >> I think you have to look at the entire corpus of uh activity and and accomplishments over the past, you know, year and a half of the administration.

and obviously the passage of the Genius Act uh right at the top of the list. There were a number of executive orders relating to digital assets that the president signed uh and that are being implemented now and then some of the rulemakings that have already taken place uh kind of pulling back operation jokepoint 2.0 we know actions and then putting forward you know there's the deconstruction phase taking down what was what was bad and harmful uh and now we're into the construction phase and obviously legislation is is a key part of that but then also rulemakings at the different agencies you saw red crypto come out of the SEC uh just recently and there's a lot more in the the rulemaking hopper um that will uh start to roll out depending on the outcome of of clarity on Tuesday.

So in your mind, what has the Genius Act already accomplished? >> I think it's, you know, a lot of this um activity and and stable coins had already been a product and proliferated. There was already obviously a large uh uh you know, market cap of of stable coins that are out there, a large float. Um we've seen an increase in that since the passage of Genius. And I think there's kind of a next leg up. There was the initial phase which was a lot of retail adoption, a lot of adoption around the world in the global south and now with the passage of genius it's for the for the more developed economies that have a already existing pretty robust banking system. And I think

that's where genius really provides that next leg up where it's not just, you know, someone in a country that has an unstable currency, national currency, and they want access to US dollars as somewhat of a savings instrument or a hedge uh against inflation, which is somewhat odd for us as Americans to think about as as the uh the dollar as a a hedge against inflation, but for many parts of the world, it is. And um now it's okay, what do stable coins mean for institutions and an existing uh payment system that is pretty robust and built out. And I think that's what you're going to see with the passage of Genius and then the implementation of the rules. Uh that's really when it becomes real. There is no such thing as a Genius compliant stable coin yet, but very soon

there will be. And I think that's when you're going to see it really take off. So, as you know, this conference we're at today is named Stablecon because we're here to highlight the growing importance and use of stable coins and the related infrastructure domestically and around the world. In the US, we've defined this very specific instrument as a genius compliant payment stable coin which is backed one to one by reserves and US government securities and it's designed to be as reliable and interoperable as the US dollar. So when you think about American competitiveness in the world, do you see this instrument as emerging as the new global currency potentially

replacing others? I don't want to necessarily opine on on what it means for currencies around the world but as we've seen even before uh the passage of genius there are many economies around the world I think Venezuela is a great example of this where without even so much as a coordinated policy effort or a conscious decision you know I think 50% of transactions in that country uh were taking place in US dollars and and largely uh US dollar back stable coins so there's clearly demand for this especially in countries that have capital controls and and uh a a poorly managed currency. So, um I would expect that to probably continue, but it's it's not necessarily a policy of the United States to to push that. It's just um

there's a product out there that was obviously created and and flourished uh without really, you know, government uh uh input on that. Genius now establishes the rules for these products that were already in existence for one to be Genius compliant. And I think we'll let the the free market decide on its own whether or not this is ultimately a currency that that people want to own. But uh tremendous potential for it and um you know we'll see what happens. >> So Tether is building a genus compliant stable coin whatever genus compliant may be as the rules come out in the next few weeks and months. USAT today has a float of 180 million which is like a thousandth the size of USDT which is the

most widely used stable coin in the world. So do you foresee offshore stable coins that have already achieved such dominance ultimately proving their youth usefulness within the regulatory cordon of the Genius Act. I think we'll see as as I mentioned the rules are are in proposal stage right now. Genius will become effective I believe January mid January. So once that is in place and once you truly have Genius compliant stable coins out there um then we'll we'll see what the market ultimately demands and and what people want. As we mentioned there's there's kind of two different parts to it. There's the the retail side of it and then there's more

of an institutional B2B uh side of that. I think you'll probably see institutions and more of the B2B uh usefulness gravitate towards more of the genius compliant model. Um and and we'll see whether retail users, you know, ultimately decide to to use one or the other. But I think there's tremendous value that comes from operating within the bounds of of the Genius Act and the rules that are uh in proposal stage and will soon be final on that and uh you know we'll see ultimately what the the market decides but I think you'll see somewhat of a bifurcation and then potentially u you know a convergence uh over time uh to what uh what the market wants. So in a increasingly interconnected global economy, how do

you think about non-USD stable coins, both local issuance in foreign currencies around the world or even American companies who are issuing in non-USD currencies elsewhere? >> I think there's a place for all of them in the same way that there's a place for for different uh currencies uh currently. the US dollar doesn't necessarily crowd out uh other currencies in the digital dollar world and the the stable coin world. Um there's a place for for non-USD uh backed stable coins as well. I think part of that is somewhat dependent upon the frameworks that the different jurisdictions put in place themselves.

Uh as we've seen over in Europe with their stable coin framework, it's more restrictive. it's more prescriptive to the market and it makes it somewhat less useful um from from the standpoint of you know what's attractive in the market. So I think uh with genius kind of setting the standard for uh what what good looks like or what kind of the the most utilized and and most liquid u you know government compliant uh stable coin is. I think you're probably going to see other jurisdictions either adopt the same framework uh try and achieve um uh reciprocity with the United States which there's a mechanism for that ingenious or I think the existing frameworks in

place might be adapted somewhat to to more closely mirror uh what is ingenious because you know we took an approach that was ultimately you know American in nature. We're not necessarily going to dictate to the market exactly how to do this. We're going to set uh you know minimum standards here uh a baseline framework and then otherwise we're going to let private companies um you know issue and and create these products and uh it's it's up to the market to ultimately adopt them. So I think it's it's the right approach between appropriate regulation but also allowing the the uh private sector to to move out and uh be able to pursue their businesses.

>> Great. So, you've been the most essential troubleshooter at the White House on some of the hot button issues throughout the development of the Genius Act and the Clarity Act. The Genius Act prohibits the payment of yield by issuers of stable coins, but it provides some tolerance for payment of yield or rewards by others in the ecosystem. This issue has been relitigated as the Clarity Act has moved through Congress, but you helped negotiate a bipartisan compromise that was wellreceived that seems to have settled this issue at least for the moment. So why do you feel that the ability of ecosystem

participants to pay yield or rewards for stable coin usage is so important? I think um obviously you know my job is to implement the president's agenda. The president recognizes the need for the clarity act to get passed and so this issue that we thought was already settled in genius like you said gets relitigated in clarity and uh we brought both sides to the table over the course of I think 3 months. I I hosted is uh uh meetings at the White House to resolve this issue and then there was a handoff to senators Tillis and also Brooks uh on this. they ran their own process and arrived at a product that ultimately tried to balance the competing interest here um you know prohibiting idle yield

um and permitting uh rewards uh related to a bonafide activity and I think uh why is it so necessary to preserve this well number one just philosophically as a free market individual you shouldn't necessarily restrict uh company's ability to reward their customers whether it's stable coins or any other product right that's that should be a permissible activity Um but at the same time in order to to get the legislation advanced you know we we had another uh important constituency that you know felt threatened by it. So we we threaded that needle and um you know it's it's really more about allowing companies to reward their customers as any company wants to be able to do and uh not doing so in a way that's that's anti-competitive. So, as

best we could and as best you can with uh the the use of the English language, you know, we tried to to thread that needle and we think we got it right and obviously Senators Tillis and also Brooks arrived at at the language that they ultimately put out there. So, um I think it's a a durable compromise and uh members that are not necessarily on the banking committee that didn't go through that multi-month process, for some of them, they're kind of encountering this for the first time. They're like, "Well, did you consider this? did you talk to these individuals? And the answer is yes. I can I can definitively say that we we considered all sides of this. This was not put together in an afternoon. It was a a very uh healthy and detailed process that we went through to get to

the place that we ended up. >> Your job must involve spending a lot of time educating stakeholders about the fundamentals of blockchains and cryptocurrency and what is money? You know, what is money in the economy? like what is its role? Um, a lot of philosophical things. What can we learn from your experience bringing along skeptical stakeholders in this very highly charged political environment? >> Um, it's hard to do. Um, but you have to establish that baseline level of trust.

um bridging the partisan divide or even on one side of the aisle there are obviously you know members that are more savvy more more crypto friendly and others that are a little bit more skeptical and just it's not their it's not their key issue and so you have to bring them along you have to meet them where they are and when it comes to bridging the uh the partisan divide there has to be that baseline level of trust that's built which is hard to do and it takes time um and you you have to understand that uh you know people have different perspectives on this uh senators have different constituents that are important to them whose voices they want to make sure are heard and uh you have to just be patient and continue to work through it and and always believe that there is a solution on the

other side of it uh which I think we've demonstrated with a lot of very difficult issues that we've worked through. So today is September 10th and next week the Senate is facing a motion to proceed to a debate on the Clarity Act, the so-called market structure legislation that would create a national regulatory framework for digital commodities and answer a lot of unanswered questions that this industry has confronted in recent years. The vote requires a super majority of 60 to advance. So before we even begin the debate, let me ask you, what is your whip count at this moment?

>> Uh, I think it's good. I think it's good. I'm not going to uh necessarily put a number on it, but um I think it's the leader has put out a number of excuse me, he solicited from members uh the whip count a couple of times. I think it's very strong. And uh the important thing is, you know, you get so down into the weeds and you're debating a couple words on page 536 of the bill and that becomes uh the the mountain uh that that's hard to um surmount. But I think when you ask people when they get closer to a vote, you ask them to zoom back out and and step back and remember why are we doing this? Why is this important in the first place? It's not necessarily those two words on on page whatever it is. It's about establishing

a framework for a very important and growing part of the economy that currently operates with without certainty and has operated as such for far too long. So this is about American competitiveness. uh this is about making sure that our markets um and and our innovation uh in the US stays a pace and we don't seed our leadership position in financial markets and capital markets with the US dollar you know in this era of of uh you know stable coins to a different jurisdiction. We've seen liquidity um and innovation go offshore because of that uncertainty. It's gone to places in Asia. It's gone to places in the Middle East. And if we're going to maintain our leadership position,

then we need to lead uh by establishing a a regulatory framework. And uh that's what we're trying to do with this bill. Shifting to another topic, thinking ahead, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the kinds of threats faced by financial institutions, participants in the digital asset ecosystem. And they're thinking about how to defend against the threats while also enable users to enjoy and get value out of these technologies. So one important dimension of this is identity.

And when you think about permissionless networks, what is the the key problem to be solved? >> I think it's incredibly exciting uh what is possible between the marriage of of AI and programmable money. Um whether that's stable coins or or different uh products. Um now you can do incredible things with that, but it also raises unique challenges like you're talking about. How do you how do you deal with um you know KYC or you know BSA obligations in a world in which money is moving faster than ever before? It's global um and you're operating in systems that no longer have that intermediary which BSA obligations kind of attach to. They make sense in a world

in which there is that that person standing in between. So uh we are forward thinking in the sense that we recognize the tremendous opportunity that permissionless networks and decentralized systems and trustless systems uh present but there's obviously you know a part of this that uh people don't want to do anything that uh facilitates illicit finance or cartel financing or terrorist financing. So we're we're trying to be sensitive to those topics. That's one thing that we've worked through uh with the Clarity Act with law enforcement is hearing their concerns and uh talking with uh law enforcement officers on the front lines or prosecutors who are making cases against bad actors. Um so we're trying to balance that but uh do so in a

way that allows this innovation to flourish and and for the benefits of it to be uh to be you know uh realized. Is there a role for public policy in enabling the upgrade to the digital identity stack that is going to make the agentic economy something real? >> I think so. There's there's a number of companies out there that we've engaged with who are trying to solve that that issue of not just you know know your customer but now know your agent and know whether that agent is operating with uh appropriate approvals from uh the the the user behind it. So there's a lot of interesting questions when you add this agentic layer in here. Um you know the agents are going to be

operating with considerable latitude and they already do. We've already seen I can't remember the exact stat but it's already dwarfing the number of humans that are transacting or or operating online these agencies. >> We cross that threshold for the first time this year. >> It's it's amazing and that it's like wow I you know people just started to talk about it like this is going to happen. It's like wait a second that's already in the rearview mirror. It already happened. Um and it's only going to accelerate. So, um it's it's incredibly exciting. There's tremendous opportunity with it, but um you know, with that, you want to make sure that uh you're you're not uh you're not breaking an existing system, but you're allowing this new technology and this new innovation and the the benefits that come from that to to achieve its full potential. So um

it's also something that is not just financial in nature although that's an important part of it but agents are going to be conducting all sorts of transactions and activity and you want to make sure that there's some way to prove digital identity to the amount that's necessary but also not above that. So you know kind of that the the holy grail of being able to disclose what's necessary but also solve privacy on the other side of it. We don't want to live in a world in which um you know everything is is suddenly fully exposed and there's no privacy in that world. So it's a delicate balance. Uh if I knew a a perfect answer, maybe I would uh go launch a company to to go move out on that. But I know there's people a lot smarter than me working on it. And um

it's it's going to be an iterative process, I would think, and there's going to be an emerging standard that I think comes out of it. In our last 30 seconds, imagine we're back here on this stage this time next year at Stablecon 2027. What will you and I be talking about? >> Oh man. Well, hopefully we're talking about uh the the implementation of the rules coming out of the Clarity Act. So, we'll see how Tuesday goes and and final passage of that. But that would be number one. Even in the absence of clarity, the agencies are going to be moving out um to establish the the market structure for digital assets to the greatest extent that they can within their existing authorities. So, as I mentioned, REGG crypto is already out from the SEC. CFTC has a a very robust

package of u uh different policy actions, whether it's rulemakings or agency guidance that they plan to uh to issue. And so, we'll be talking about the implementation of those things. there's going to be healthy uh uh input solicited from the market and in the case of of rulemakings with uh with notice and comment, formal notice and comment, there's going to be a lot of uh people providing uh good input there. So, they're going to have to navigate it. It's it's not easy. There's not clear answers to this, but I can just say the president has set the vision. he wants to lead in in digital assets and you know kind of ancillary type of of technologies like prediction markets for example and um down the list any kind of frontier technology this president wants

America to be in at the forefront and to be leading and uh we're going to be doing that. The agencies are ready to uh to move out with legislation or without it. So, stable coin enthusiasts will call 2025 the year of legislation and 2026 the year of anticipation and 2027 will be the year of implementation. >> There you go. I like it. >> Thanks, Patrick. >> Thank you. >> Days after our interview, the Clarity Act was brought before the US Senate where it fell to a procedural vote on September 15th. Just 49 of the 99 senators voting agreed to begin a final debate on the bill. Those voting no cited a number of reasons, but there was

an essential block of Republicans and Democrats who had otherwise signaled their support for clarity, yet pointed to the bill's lack of meaningful limits on the ability of public officials to profit from the digital asset industry. While it's still possible the Senate may try to return to the bill after November's elections, it seems unlikely that much will have changed by then. As Patrick hinted, the regulators in Washington wasted no time moving ahead on their agenda to formalize crypto market structure using existing authority under current law. Thanks for joining us for this special episode of the stable pulse. See you next time.