US Senate passes GENIUS stablecoin bill, advancing it to the House for final approval
Key Takeaways
- Senate passes the GENIUS stablecoin bill with bipartisan support, marking first major crypto legislation to clear the chamber.
- The bill moves to the House, which may vote on the GENIUS Act or push its own STABLE Act instead.
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The US Senate has officially passed the GENIUS Act, marking the most significant step yet toward establishing federal rules to regulate stablecoins. The bill passed in a final vote of 68–30 and now moves to the House of Representatives, where it will face a vote in the coming weeks.
The legislation, formally titled the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS, sets legal requirements for stablecoin issuers.
It mandates full backing of stablecoins by US dollars or similarly liquid assets, annual audits for issuers with over $50 billion in market capitalization, and compliance rules for foreign entities like Tether.
It also bars non-financial public companies such as Meta and Amazon from issuing stablecoins unless they meet specific risk and privacy standards. In the event of insolvency, the bill gives stablecoin holders “super-priority” in bankruptcy proceedings, putting them ahead of other creditors.
While the GENIUS Act has cleared the Senate, it must now be reconciled with the House’s own stablecoin bill, the STABLE Act, which advanced out of committee in May. The two proposals differ on state versus federal oversight and the treatment of foreign issuers. Reconciliation will be required before any bill reaches President Trump’s desk.
Trump has repeatedly endorsed stablecoin regulation and is pushing to have a bill signed into law by August. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that with the GENIUS Act in place, projections of a $3.7 trillion stablecoin market by 2028 become increasingly likely.
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