The GENIUS Act has just advanced towards final passage after spending weeks In limbo.
This bill was designed to create clearer rules in the US over the issuance of stablecoins.
Legislation cleared the 60-vote requirement in a 66 versus 32 vote.
Senators like Elizabeth Warren have claimed that while the bill is strong, it might not be strong enough to prevent corruption.
However the bill turns out will determine how stablecoins and general crypto are treated in the US.
After spending weeks in partisan limbo, the U.S. Senate has now advanced a major crypto regulation bill.
Monday saw the advancement of the GENIUS act.
For context, the GENIUS Act was designed to create the nation’s first regulatory framework for stablecoins, and the US could be headed towards clearer rules for stablecoins and for crypto as a whole.
Here are the main details of this vote.
The GENIUS act passed after a 66 versus 32 vote, where the legislation cleared the 60-vote requirement needed to push the bill towards final passage.
So far, with the way the vote turned out, there is clear demand from both Democratic and Republican parties for a better way to regulate crypto, especially stablecoins.
The GENIUS act passage
Sixteen Senate Democrats joined Republicans to push the bill forward, and therefore cleared the roadblock that had stalled progress just two weeks earlier.
For context, the GENIUS act was created to regulate stablecoin issuers.
It is focused on protecting consumers, setting limits on who can issue stablecoins and putting restrictions on certain government officials involved in the crypto space.
One interesting provision in the bill is aimed at preventing congress members and senior executive officials from issuing any kind of payment stablecoins during their time in office.
While this will do much to reduce conflicts of interest, some Democrats argue that it doesn’t go far enough.
One major example that has often been raised by these Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, is President Donald Trump’s involvement in the crypto industry.
The GENIUS Act was heavily resisted earlier this month when all Senate Democrats (joined by two Republicans) blocked the measure.
These senators objected because of issues with national security, consumer protections and political profiteering.
However, a late-week agreement among bipartisan senators, including Cynthia Lummis introduced an amendment to the mix.
This amendment was put in place to tighten consumer protection language and reduce the ability of major tech firms like Meta, Microsoft and Google to issue stablecoins.
The amendment also includes clauses aimed at temporarily applying these ethics to influential figures like Elon Musk and David Sacks.
In exchange for this amendment, the Democrats agreed to support the GENIUS Act, even if the amendment ultimately fails.
The Trump family's ties to crypto, World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP memecoin were some of the issues that caused the Democratic pushback.
More recently, President Trump recently hosted a private dinner for top holders of his own meme coin.
Even though memecoins haven’t been the target of the GENIUS Act, the blur between the lines of politics and crypto ventures has been a major source of red flags.
Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren continue to warn that the bill fails to prevent elected officials from profiting from the crypto market.
“This bill turbocharges the stablecoin market while enabling the president’s corruption,” Warren said on the Senate floor. “A weak bill is worse than no bill at all.”
Warren resisting the bill
While Warren leads the opposition, other Democrats like Mark Warner argue that the risks of not taking action are bigger than whatever flaws the bill might have.
Overall if the GENIUS act is passed, it could offer clarity to issuers and consumers alike.
The US would finally be ready to lead the charge in the next wave of financial technology.
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