The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed the stablecoin bill (known as the GENIUS Act), which aims to establish a regulatory framework for these cryptocurrency tokens pegged to the dollar. The bill will be submitted to US President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.
House members also passed two additional cryptocurrency bills, which will now be submitted to the Senate for review. One bill establishes a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies (known as the CLARITY Act), while the other prohibits the United States from issuing a central bank digital currency.
Both the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act received significant bipartisan support. Democratic members joined Republicans in passing the stablecoin bill by a vote of 308 to 122.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. They are often used by cryptocurrency traders to transfer funds between different tokens. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years, with proponents claiming that stablecoins can be used for instant payments.
If the stablecoin bill is signed into law, stablecoin issuance would need to be backed by liquid assets (such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bonds), and issuers would have to disclose the composition of reserve assets on a monthly basis.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission official, described Thursday's vote as a "defining moment in the evolution of US digital asset policy."
The cryptocurrency industry has long pushed lawmakers to pass legislation establishing rules for digital assets, arguing that a clear framework could promote wider adoption of stablecoins and other crypto tokens. In last year's elections, the industry invested over $119 million to support pro-crypto candidates in Congress, and worked to frame the issue as a bipartisan consensus.
The House had passed a stablecoin bill last year, but the Senate, which was controlled by Democrats at the time, did not review the bill.
After receiving financial support from the cryptocurrency industry during his presidential campaign, Trump has sought a comprehensive overhaul of US cryptocurrency policy. However, tensions on Capitol Hill over Trump's various cryptocurrency projects have threatened legislative hopes in the digital asset industry this year, due to growing Democratic resentment of Trump and his family's promotion of personal cryptocurrency projects.
Trump's cryptocurrency projects include the meme coin $TRUMP launched in January, as well as the cryptocurrency company in which he owns a portion of the shares, "World Liberty Financial."
The White House claims that there is no conflict of interest for Trump, and that his assets are owned by trusts managed by his children.
The CLARITY Act was approved in the House by a vote of 294 to 134, and the core of this law lies in determining when a cryptocurrency is considered a security and when it is considered a commodity, and clarifying the jurisdiction of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over this industry - an issue that has been strongly challenged by cryptocurrency companies under the Biden administration.
Cryptocurrency companies believe that most tokens should be classified as commodities rather than securities, so that platforms can offer these tokens to customers more easily without having to comply with extensive securities laws.
The bill must be passed in the Senate before it is submitted to Trump for signature to finally become law. Some Democrats strongly oppose the CLARITY Act, saying it could benefit Trump's cryptocurrency projects through "light regulation".
The House also passed a bill that would ban central bank digital currencies, which Republicans believe could violate the privacy of Americans. This issue was a focus of discussion in the House this week.
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