The U.S. Senate passed the stablecoin regulation bill (GENIUS Act) on Tuesday with a vote of 68 to 30, marking an important step towards establishing a stablecoin regulatory framework in the United States. If this legislation is ultimately passed, it will significantly impact the development of crypto payments and fiat stablecoins in the U.S. and globally.
GENIUS Act passed Senate approval
Bill sponsor, Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, stated that once the (GENIUS Act) officially becomes law, businesses and citizens across the U.S. will be able to complete payments almost instantly, without having to wait several days or even weeks. He emphasized that the bill represents America's move towards becoming a 'global cryptocurrency leader.'
Additionally, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed out that if stablecoin legislation is implemented, the stablecoin market is expected to expand to $3.7 trillion by the end of this century. U.S. President Trump's AI and crypto czar David Sacks also expressed support for this bill in May, stating that Trump would sign the Republican-led stablecoin legislation.
Legislative obstacles of the GENIUS Act
This bill was initially defeated in the Senate's 'cloture vote' in May, primarily due to concerns raised by some Democratic members regarding Trump's close ties to the crypto industry.
The Trump family has a close relationship with the stablecoin project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), which launched the USD1 stablecoin this March. According to previous reports by Zombit, Trump himself made over $50 million in WLFI's token sale, and he personally holds as many as 15.75 billion WLFI tokens, valued at approximately $235 million based on WLFI's fundraising price of $0.015.
Next stop (STABLE Act)
The House version of the GENIUS Act (STABLE Act) is expected to be further deliberated by the House. Although the two bills have different names and slightly different content, they may ultimately be consolidated into a unified bill for the President's signature. However, due to the Republicans' slim majority in the House, it remains uncertain whether the bill can pass smoothly.
Meanwhile, the House is also discussing another related piece of legislation (CLARITY Act), aimed at clarifying the market structure and regulatory status of cryptocurrency assets. This bill passed the Agriculture and Financial Services Committee last week and is expected to enter the voting process in the chamber, but it similarly faces opposition from some Democratic members.
Institutions and tech giants are also watching
Reports indicate that companies including Apple, Google, Airbnb, and social platform X (formerly Twitter) are closely monitoring the direction of stablecoin legislation and assessing whether to launch their own stablecoins. Some senators in the Senate have even questioned whether Meta is also preparing to 'relaunch its stablecoin project,' similar to the previously shelved Libra.
Reference source
Source
