Imagine if some of us still drove horse-drawn carriages for our daily commutes while others zoomed around in the newest-model cars. That is the gap — in terms of speed, technical innovation and consumer benefit — between how we use money today and what stablecoins promise.

Recent analysis suggests that many Americans still have no idea what stablecoins are. But now that Congress has passed the bipartisan GENIUS Act — the first federal framework for stablecoins — rapid adoption is likely. Understanding how these digital dollars work will be not just helpful but necessary.

Put simply, a stablecoin is a digital version of the dollar (or euro or yen) in your wallet. Easy, right? But because stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency, built on advanced blockchain technology, some people still find them opaque. Separately, some might assume that stablecoins act like Bitcoin or comparable crypto tokens, which they do not.

A major difference between stablecoins and tokens is stability. Unlike digital assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, which can swing in price based on supply and demand, stablecoins are pegged one-to-one to real-world currency. That means one digital dollar is always worth one actual dollar (or a dollar equivalent, such as a Treasury).

This stability is, ironically, what makes stablecoins so potentially disruptive. Because they behave like traditional money but can be moved on a more flexible digital infrastructure that is faster, cheaper and always accessible, stablecoins offer an upgrade to how we send,........

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