The US Senate on Tuesday approved the most sweeping piece of crypto legislation to date, passing the long-awaited GENIUS Act with strong bipartisan support.
The vote, which cleared the chamber 68 to 30, marks the first time the Senate has advanced a regulatory framework specifically for stablecoins, a fast-growing corner of the digital asset industry.
Backed by 18 Democrats and most Republicans, the bill moves next to the House of Representatives, where lawmakers have been working on a similar framework.
If the House passes a reconciled version, the legislation will head to President Donald Trump’s desk, aligning with the administration’s push to formalize crypto policy before the August recess.
Senate Bill Demands Monthly Disclosures and Hard Asset Backing for Stablecoin Issuers
Rep. Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, who sponsored the bill, called the passage a defining moment for US financial infrastructure.
“The prospect of faster and cheaper payments will have far-reaching implications for our financial system,” he said on the Senate floor. “Stablecoins are a paradigm-shifting development that can bring our payment system into the 21st century.”
The GENIUS Act, short for “Guaranteeing Essential National Infrastructure Using Stablecoins,” seeks to regulate dollar-backed digital tokens often used to transfer funds across blockchain networks.
The bill would require stablecoins to be fully backed by liquid assets like US dollars or Treasury bills and mandate monthly public disclosures of those reserves. It also limits stablecoin issuance to licensed institutions and bars current federal officials from launching their own tokens.
Concerns Over Foreign Money and Ethical Gaps Nearly Stopped the GENIUS Act
But the road to Tuesday’s vote was anything but smooth. In May, the bill stalled after Democrats raised concerns about national security risks and ethics loopholes. Revelations that an Abu Dhabi firm planned to invest in Binance using stablecoins issued by a Trump-linked company heightened those fears, prompting calls for stricter guardrails.
Weeks of closed-door negotiations followed. Key changes included stricter ethics disclosures for officials holding stablecoins, added protections for bank customers in the event of bankruptcy, and a Treasury mandate to oversee suspicious activity.
These revisions helped win back enough Democrats to push the bill through.
Senate Vote Draws Praise for Safeguards, But Concerns Linger Over Loopholes
Even so, critics remained. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a longtime crypto skeptic, warned that the bill still falls short. “This is a bill that was written by the industry,” she said, adding that it “will supercharge the profitability of Donald Trump’s crypto corruption while it undercuts consumer protection.”
Supporters of the legislation, however, argued that leaving the sector unregulated would only increase risk. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who helped draft the bill, called the digital asset space a “wild West.”
She said consumers remain exposed and companies still lack regulatory clarity. While she acknowledged concerns about Trump’s crypto ties, she argued those should not derail efforts to bring order to the industry.
Liat Shetret, vice president of global policy and regulation at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, called the Senate vote “a pivotal step in shaping the country’s digital asset future.” She added, “It’s clear that robust consumer protections and market integrity safeguards were central to driving approval, and the GENIUS Act benefited from strong nonpartisan support.”
The House is expected to take up the legislation in the coming weeks. While some industry advocates have urged rapid passage, others, including the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, are pressing for key changes to address potential risks to financial stability. The final shape of the bill may still shift before it lands on the president’s desk.
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