The US Senate's stablecoin bill was just passed with an overwhelming vote of 68-30 on Tuesday, marking an important milestone in the effort to build cryptocurrency policy in the US. Strong support from Democratic senators — alongside Republican members — has given great momentum to the bill as it moves to the House of Representatives.
The bill, titled "GENIUS Act," establishes a legal framework to oversee and approve stablecoin issuers in the US, including USD-pegged tokens like Circle's USDC, Ripple's RLUSD, and Tether's USDT. Accordingly, companies issuing stablecoins to US users will have to comply with strict asset reserve requirements, operational transparency, anti-money laundering measures, and will be subject to oversight by regulatory authorities — likely accompanied by new capital regulations.
Ji Kim, Acting Executive Director of the Crypto Council for Innovation, called this a "historic step for the digital asset industry" in a statement released before the vote.
Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director and Legal Advisor of the DeFi Education Fund, also stated: "This is a victory for America, for technological innovation, and an important step towards reasonable regulation for digital assets in the United States."
However, the bill has not convinced some hardline critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren — who argues that the bill leaves loopholes for foreign tokens like Tether's USDT, does not address conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump related to the crypto market, and sets a precedent for large tech corporations like Amazon to issue their own currencies.
Despite these concerns, Democratic lawmakers supporting the bill argue that inaction would be a mistake. Republican Senator Bill Hagerty from Tennessee — the bill's sponsor — stated before the vote:
"With this bill, America is taking another step towards becoming the global leader in cryptocurrency. Stablecoins will be pegged to the US dollar and backed by cash and short-term US government bonds at a 1:1 ratio — this will provide certainty and trust for this breakthrough technology to be more widely adopted."
This is the first time a significant crypto bill has passed the Senate, and also the first time a stablecoin law has been passed in any chamber of Congress, despite years of prior negotiations in the House Financial Services Committee.
The fate of the GENIUS Act is now linked to the House's Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — a more comprehensive bill aimed at establishing a legal framework for the entire digital asset market in the US. The stablecoin bill is slightly ahead, but lawmakers and the industry emphasize that both pieces of legislation need to pass simultaneously to ensure effective policy.
A new report from TRM Labs released on Tuesday states that stablecoins account for over 60% of total cryptocurrency transactions today, with over 90% being tokens pegged to the US dollar — primarily USDC and USDT. However, TRM warns that while 99% of stablecoin activity is legal, the speed, scale, and liquidity of these make stablecoins an attractive tool for illegal activities such as ransomware payments, fraud, and terrorism financing.
These risks are now the biggest concerns for lawmakers opposing the bill in Congress.