U.S. Senate Has Advanced Stablecoin Legislation, Now What?

Forbes

19-06-2025

A vote of the full Senate Chamber on Tuesday green-lighted stablecoin legislation for the next phase, which is a vote on the House floor.
'Today marks the first time the Senate has ever passed comprehensive legislation to address digital assets. I am excited by this emerging technology and will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep America and Americans at the forefront,' said Senator Angela Alsobrooks (MD), who is an original cosponsor of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act.
Senate proceedings were relatively drama free, compared to previous markups and committee deliberations. It was heralded as significant that 18 Democrats joined Republicans to clinch the win.
'With the GENIUS Act's passage, we are meaningfully closer to a stablecoin regulatory landscape in the U.S. that provides clear rules of the road, protects consumers, and holds bad actors accountable. I look forward to seeing this bill pass the House with equally strong bipartisan support and get signed into law,' touted Senator Ruben Gallego (AZ), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee.
The passage is largely viewed as a major victory, but it is just one of the many steps in the journey of how a bill becomes a law. A key point of friction in ongoing policy negotiations has been the Trump family's crypto business dealings.
The GENIUS Act includes a measure prohibiting Members of Congress and their families from profiting from stablecoins, but that ban does not extend to President Trump and his family.
All eyes will be on the House voting schedule when they are back in session next week.
In April, the Financial Services Committee passed their version of the bill, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act. The fastest track to the President's desk would be to amend that bill to mirror the Senate.
Interestingly, there has been rumblings about a push to fold the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act into the House stablecoin proposal as a twofer. The Agriculture and Financial Services Committees both advanced the market structure bill last week. And a reconciled package is expected to be ready for a House for a vote soon.
But in a surprise twist, President Trump last night fired off a missive over social media calling for a clean bill with 'no delays, no add ons,' essentially throwing an Executive Branch wrench into the bipartisan Congressional debate.
These are lofty and complex goals, considering the spending bill is still languishing in Congress and is a time sensitive priority.
Additionally, stablecoin legislation is far from settled. It will not only be the crypto industry advocating for provisions to be added to a final legislative package.
In response to the passage of the GENIUS Act, American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols remarked, 'we will continue to work with lawmakers to pursue a final stablecoin bill that embraces innovation without undermining our nation's resilient and trusted financial system and the critical role banks play in the economy.'
It is clear that the path forward will continue to have challenges beyond getting time on the House schedule before the August recess.
As Congress gets closer to a framework for the crypto industry that fosters global competitiveness, policymakers will need to find ways to reconcile accelerating innovation, prioritizing ethics, with mitigating risk to market participants.