A significant piece of legislation for digital currencies is poised to become law. The U.S. House has approved a bill designed to regulate stablecoins, officially titled the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The bill is now headed to the desk of President Donald Trump for final approval.
This significant step represents a change in direction for the crypto industry, which has faced resistance from U.S. regulators and a lack of legislative progress. It follows closely on the heels of the House’s passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (dubbed “CLARITY”), aiming to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the broader digital asset markets.
The GENIUS Act secured passage with a vote of 308-122. Having already received Senate approval with a 68-30 vote, it now simply requires the President’s signature to be enacted. Once signed, regulators will be able to start developing rules for stablecoin issuers, an area currently dominated by USDT from Tether and USDC from Circle, and attracting considerable interest from traditional finance players, including major Wall Street banks.
The legislative process saw significant support from Democrats, joining the Republican majority to support specific crypto regulations. Dissenting Democrats voiced concerns that the proposed rules remain potentially risky for investors and might enable misuse by financial institutions.
Although the Clarity Act is considered the more crucial of the two legislative priorities for the industry, lobbyists will now dedicate their resources to that more complicated bill. The House’s market structure bill was approved with a 294-134 vote last Thursday. The Senate is now expected to consider the market structure bill, and it is generally anticipated they will pursue their own version, which is still being drafted.
Senator Tim Scott, head of the Senate Banking Committee, stated his goal to finalize market structure legislation by September 30, mentioning that the House’s bill will provide a “strong template.”
Industry lobbyists carefully monitored the degree of Democratic backing for the bill, viewing it as a key indicator of the pressure the Senate would feel to take action. The strong Democratic support ultimately met expectations. A third bill, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act, received more partisan support, passing largely along party lines with only two Democrats voting in favor. Due to the expectation that the Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act won’t find substantial bipartisan support in the Senate on its own it’s likely to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act.
Earlier in the year, President Trump, during a summit at the White House with cryptocurrency leaders, set a deadline of the August congressional recess for finalizing both of the industry’s main legislative objectives. The stablecoin measure represents the first achievement, although the market structure bill is seen as the more vital legislation. Policy analysts have predicted that completing market structure legislation might take longer than President Trump’s goal, possibly extending later into the year.
President Trump’s sway over cryptocurrency policy has been considerable, sparking disagreement among Democrats who view his personal investment in the sector as inappropriate. Despite this, a last-minute negotiation with dissenting Republicans during “Crypto Week” procedural actions concluded with President Trump claiming he’d secured their support, only to discover they maintained their opposition for most of the day.
UPDATE (July 17, 2025, 20:06 UTC): Adds Anti-CBDC Act vote.