What's next?
Beyond the GENIUS Act uncertainty, House Democrats are reportedly planning to walk out of a joint congressional hearing on crypto market structure legislation scheduled for Tuesday as pressure mounts over concerns about President Donald Trump's forays into digital assets.
Another stablecoin bill, known as the STABLE Act, has been advancing in the House. World Liberty Financial, a DeFi project backed by Trump, also recently launched its own stablecoin.
While the future of the GENIUS Act has been thrown into question in its current form, and political jockeying threatens to undermine progress on other crypto-related legislation, Hougan still expects the stablecoin bill to ultimately pass.
"Stablecoins are too obviously beneficial — to America, the dollar, merchants, entrepreneurs, and others — for petty political jockeying to derail progress," he said. "The next few days and weeks will be fraught. If legislation fizzles, this could be a challenging summer for crypto. But if Washington can get its act together, I think the bull market will be unstoppable."