The stablecoin reserve infrastructure race just produced its first blockbuster number. ProShares' GENIUS Money Market ETF (NYSE: IQMM) recorded $17 billion in trading volume on its first day, as of February 20, 2026, setting a record for any money market ETF debut. To put that in perspective, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), the most hyped ETF launch in recent memory, generated roughly $1 billion in day-one volume when it debuted in January 2024.
IQMM did not just beat the crypto ETF benchmark. It lapped it by a factor of 17.
$17 Billion in a Single Session, and It Was Not Retail
The volume figure is staggering for a product category that most retail investors have never heard of. Money market ETFs are not speculative vehicles. They hold the shortest-duration, safest government paper available, Treasury bills maturing in 93 days or less. The kind of instrument that pays a modest yield and barely moves in price.
That $17 billion in turnover signals one thing: institutions showed up on day one in force. The likely buyers are the entities IQMM was built for, stablecoin issuers and their treasury teams who collectively manage nearly $300 billion in reserve assets. When the GENIUS Act became law in July 2025, it created a legal mandate for every stablecoin dollar in circulation to be backed by high-quality liquid assets. IQMM is the first ETF wrapper purpose-built to satisfy that mandate.
ProShares CEO Michael L. Sapir had positioned the fund as infrastructure, saying IQMM "will be an attractive cash management alternative for institutional investors, including stablecoin treasuries." The market's response suggests he underestimated the demand.
Why the GENIUS Act Created a $300 Billion Compliance Problem
The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, established the first comprehensive federal framework for U.S. payment stablecoins. Its core requirement is simple but sweeping: every dollar of stablecoins in circulation must be backed by an equivalent dollar of eligible reserves.
The permitted reserve list includes U.S. currency, insured bank deposits, Treasury securities with remaining maturity of 93 days or fewer, short-term repurchase agreements, qualifying money market funds, and tokenized versions of the above.
Before IQMM, stablecoin issuers managed this compliance through direct Treasury purchases, bank deposits, or money market fund allocations. Each option has friction. Direct Treasury management requires dedicated trading desks. Bank deposits carry counterparty risk and FDIC insurance caps. Traditional money market funds lack same-day settlement and intraday liquidity.
IQMM eliminates those pain points. It trades intraday on NYSE Arca, offers same-day settlement, distributes income weekly, and charges a 0.15% expense ratio. For a Tether or Circle treasury team managing tens of billions, the operational savings of routing reserves through a single ETF wrapper could be significant.
ETF analyst Nate Geraci called it "a smart move," noting the fund allows issuers to manage reserves "without concerns from a regulatory or operational standpoint."
The $2-to-$4 Trillion Pipeline Behind the Volume
The $17 billion in day-one volume looks even more significant against stablecoin market projections. According to Citi research, the stablecoin market could reach $1.9 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030. Standard Chartered has penciled in approximately $2 trillion by the end of the decade. A separate analysis estimated that up to $500 billion could shift from traditional bank deposits into stablecoin-backed reserves by 2028.
If those projections hold even at the conservative end, IQMM and products like it will need to absorb hundreds of billions in new reserve assets over the next four years. The day-one volume suggests that stablecoin treasurers are not waiting for the market to grow. They are moving existing reserves into compliant wrappers right now.
The timing matters for another reason. The stablecoin yield debate currently consuming Washington directly affects how these reserves generate income. If stablecoin issuers are eventually allowed to pass yield through to holders, the instruments backing those reserves, like IQMM, become the yield engine for the entire stablecoin ecosystem.
What This Means for Crypto Card Users and Stablecoin Holders
For anyone holding stablecoin-denominated crypto cards, IQMM's success is quietly bullish. The more efficiently issuers can manage their reserves, the lower the operational costs that get passed down to users through fees, spreads, or reduced rewards.
Cards that fund spending directly from USDC or USDT balances, like those from RedotPay or KAST, depend on stablecoin infrastructure running smoothly. A compliant, low-friction reserve vehicle reduces systemic risk for the entire stablecoin stack, from issuance through to the point-of-sale swipe.
There is also a second-order effect. As reserve management becomes more standardized and institutional, the probability of a major stablecoin de-peg event driven by reserve mismanagement drops. The GENIUS Act forced transparency. IQMM gives issuers a tool to demonstrate compliance in real time through a publicly traded, auditable vehicle.
The Broader Race for Stablecoin Reserve Infrastructure
IQMM will not be alone for long. With $300 billion in circulating stablecoins and a clear regulatory framework demanding reserve compliance, every major ETF provider has incentive to launch competing products. The money market ETF category, which barely existed as a stablecoin play six months ago, is now potentially one of the largest addressable markets in asset management.
The competitive dynamics mirror what happened with Bitcoin ETFs, where BlackRock, Fidelity, and others raced to capture institutional flows once regulatory clarity emerged. IQMM has a first-mover advantage, but ProShares' 0.15% fee will face pressure as competitors enter.
Meanwhile, traditional finance institutions are eyeing the same opportunity from a different angle. Fidelity, Citi, and Bank of America have all explored issuing their own stablecoins, which would require the same reserve backing. BNP Paribas recently moved a French money market fund onto Ethereum, and Stripe's Bridge secured an OCC bank charter for stablecoin issuance. The reserve infrastructure buildout is happening on multiple fronts simultaneously.
The $17 billion day-one figure is not just a trading record. It is a market signal that stablecoin reserve management has graduated from an operational afterthought to a primary institutional asset class.
FAQ
How does IQMM differ from a regular money market fund? IQMM trades intraday on NYSE Arca like a stock, offers same-day settlement, and is specifically structured to hold only assets that qualify as stablecoin reserves under the GENIUS Act (Treasuries maturing in 93 days or less). Traditional money market funds typically settle next-day and may hold a broader range of short-term instruments.
Who drove the $17 billion in day-one volume? The volume is primarily attributed to institutional buyers, likely stablecoin issuers and their treasury management teams. Entities like Tether, Circle, and Ripple collectively manage hundreds of billions in reserve assets that now require GENIUS Act compliance.
Does IQMM's success affect stablecoin prices? Not directly. IQMM is a reserve management tool, not a speculative asset. However, more efficient and transparent reserve management reduces the risk of stablecoin de-pegging events, which indirectly supports stablecoin stability.
What is the expense ratio? IQMM charges 0.15% annually. For institutional reserve managers deploying billions, this is competitive with direct Treasury management when accounting for operational overhead.
Could IQMM generate yield for stablecoin holders? That depends on pending legislation around stablecoin yield-sharing. Currently, issuers earn the Treasury yield on reserves but are not required to pass it through. If the CLARITY Act or similar legislation permits yield distribution, IQMM's underlying Treasury returns could flow to end users.
Overview
ProShares' GENIUS Money Market ETF (IQMM) recorded $17 billion in day-one trading volume on February 20, 2026, setting a record for any money market ETF launch and dwarfing BlackRock IBIT's $1 billion Bitcoin ETF debut by a factor of 17. The fund holds exclusively sub-93-day Treasury securities to comply with GENIUS Act stablecoin reserve requirements, charges 0.15%, and offers same-day settlement. The volume signals that institutional stablecoin treasurers are actively migrating reserves into compliant wrappers as the nearly $300 billion stablecoin market faces its first binding federal reserve mandate.
Recommended Reading
- ProShares Launches IQMM, the First Money Market ETF Built for GENIUS Act Stablecoin Reserves
- The White House Confiscated Phones to Force Banks and Crypto Into a Stablecoin Yield Deal, and Both Sides Blinked
- BNP Paribas Puts a French Money Market Fund on Ethereum
