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Forbes
02-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Will New US Blockchain Legislation Shape Global Infrastructure?
With the new series of blockchain legislation, will the United States unleash a wave of innovation like the one the 1996 Telecommunications Act fostered for the internet? On June 17th, 2025, the U.S. Senate made history by passing the GENIUS Act of 2025 (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins of 2025). This legislation establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins and represents the first major cryptocurrency bill ever approved by the Senate in the United States and a major policy shift versus crypto industry. The bill's passage was not without controversy. Democrats strongly opposed the measure, arguing it lacked sufficient regulations to prevent abuses. They particularly criticized the absence of anti-corruption rules that would prevent President Trump and his family from profiting from cryptocurrency investments. While the House still must approve the bill before it reaches the president's desk, this Senate victory marks a turning point for the crypto industry's quest for Washington (and thus global) legitimacy. WASHINGTON, D.C. - APRIL 20, 2018: The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Robert ...) A Moment of Digital Transformation This legislative milestone comes at what may prove to be a key moment in digital governance. Think back to the internet of the mid-1990s—it looked nothing like today's digital landscape. Back then, digital identity meant little more than an email address. Data ownership was an abstract concept most people did not understand. The idea that individuals could truly control their personal information online seemed impossible. Distributed technology existed mainly in academic papers, with few grasping how profoundly it could transform digital ownership, identity, and governance. Today, even as Big Tech continues to dominate, we may be witnessing a breaking point—the beginning of new rules for how our digital world operates. Political Battles and Missed Opportunities The blockchain legislation advanced amid intense political drama. The same week, Republicans narrowly passed President Trump's budget reconciliation bill in another contentious 50-50 Senate vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the deciding ballot. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" faced criticism from both parties over healthcare cuts, AI regulation concerns, and tax redistribution. During the budget debate, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis attempted to include provisions addressing what she called "unfair tax treatment" of cryptocurrency miners and stakers. Her amendments never made it to the Senate floor. "I would have liked to have seen that provision in the final product," Alaska Representative Nicholas Begich said afterward. "I think there will be other opportunities for us to get that into must-pass legislation." The political tensions were evident in other ways too. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley proposed an amendment—ultimately defeated—that would have banned government officials, including the president and Congress members, from owning or promoting digital assets. Building America's Blockchain Infrastructure The GENIUS Act represents just one piece of a larger legislative puzzle. Congress is simultaneously considering the Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2025, which awaits Senate approval. Together with proposals for a national Bitcoin reserve and comprehensive digital asset market structure, these bills form the most ambitious crypto regulatory framework in U.S. history. Echoes of 1996 The parallels to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 are remarkable. Just as that landmark legislation opened markets to competition and gave companies the regulatory clarity needed to build broadband infrastructure nationwide, today's blockchain bills promise to provide the certainty this emerging sector has desperately sought. For years, crypto industry advocates have argued that regulations have stifled innovation. The current legislative package could create the necessary regulatory infrastructure and unleash investment and development similar to the $1.4 trillion in capital that built the internet's physical backbone after 1996. But blockchain legislation goes beyond what lawmakers accomplished in the 1990s. While the Telecommunications Act focused primarily on infrastructure, today's bills address two revolutionary concepts that could reshape the entire digital economy. The first transformation involves infrastructure sovereignty. Blockchain technology creates what experts call "digital ownership infrastructure"—a network of secure, decentralized systems where individuals can store and control their digital assets and identities. Unlike today's centralized platforms, blockchain gives users sovereign control over their data through cryptographic keys that only they possess. The legislation (Deploying American Blockchains Act) directs the Department of Commerce to establish a Blockchain Deployment Program to support U.S. leadership in blockchain technology, develop policies and recommendations, examine benefits to federal agencies, coordinate federal cybersecurity activities related to blockchain technology, and work with the private sector to identify deployment opportunities. Perhaps more importantly, blockchain legislation tackles a challenge that did not exist in 1996: who owns and controls the vast amounts of personal data generated by digital interactions. Today, most people have fragmented online identities with no real control over their personal information. Companies collect and monetize user data while individuals unknowingly surrender the value their information creates. When data breaches occur—and they happen frequently—users face a lifetime of fraud mitigation with little recourse. Blockchain offers a fundamentally different model through "self-sovereign identity." Instead of storing personal data on company servers, individuals can maintain their identity information in their own digital wallets, choosing what to share and with whom. This represents a shift as significant as the move from centralized mainframes to personal computers. The implications extend far beyond individual privacy. Self-sovereign identity systems could enable new forms of economic activity where people directly monetize their data contributions rather than surrendering value to platform intermediaries. The Window of Opportunity Countries across the world face a narrow window of opportunity to challenge American technological dominance. This U.S. legislative package—though ironically American companies often criticize EU tech regulations —could cement an even greater competitive advantage for U.S. entities for decades to come. The current landscape speaks for itself: virtually no Big Tech company of global scale exist outside the United States. History shows that first-mover advantages in setting technological standards often prove decisive, and other nations may be running out of time to establish meaningful alternatives. The Deploying American Blockchains Act and GENIUS Act may not carry the immediate transformative impact of the Telecommunications Act, but they address challenges that could prove even more significant: how individuals control their digital lives and how societies govern increasingly complex technological systems. History suggests that countries establishing clear, innovation-friendly regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies tend to dominate those technologies for decades. With adequate blockchain legislation, any country has the opportunity to shape not just markets, but the fundamental architecture of digital freedom itself.
Gizmodo
29-06-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Crypto Bros Are Winning Big in Trump's America
Six months into Donald Trump's return to the White House, one thing is clear: the biggest winners so far aren't oil executives or Wall Street bankers. They're crypto bros. Yes, the same industry that melted down in 2022—taking with it crypto exchange FTX, its 'visionary' CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (now serving 25 years in prison), and billions in investor money—is suddenly back. Stronger. Richer. And more politically powerful than ever. That's because crypto didn't just bet on Trump. It bankrolled him. And now that investment is paying off. During a June 27 press conference, Trump made an astonishing claim: 'I'm president, and what I did do there is build an industry that's very important.' He then declared crypto to be a 'strategic industry,' the kind of thing America must dominate to beat China. To skeptics, it's classic Trump bombast. But inside the industry, this is music. Having a president who openly champions the technology, hosts crypto firms at the White House, and signals green lights across government is exactly what they wanted. And it's working. Since January, the crypto industry has racked up a string of legislative and regulatory wins that seemed impossible two years ago. 1. The Genius Act Passed by the Senate this spring, this sweeping bill legalizes and regulates stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to traditional money like the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins are crypto's great rebrand: they're less casino, more savings account. They promise 'stability' in a market known for volatility. This act gives them federal legitimacy, opening the door for banks, credit cards, and even mortgage lenders to use them. 2. The U.S. Crypto Reserve A new Treasury-backed program that will stockpile major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as a strategic asset, alongside gold and foreign currency reserves. 3. SEC Shake-Up Gone is Gary Gensler, the Biden-era regulator loathed by the industry for pursuing crypto lawsuits. In is Paul Atkins, who's vowed to create 'clear and rational' rules, particularly around custody (who holds your coins), issuance, and fraud enforcement. He also supports self-custody, meaning people can keep their crypto in private wallets, outside banks. 4. Mortgage Reform The Federal Housing Finance Agency is now exploring whether crypto assets like Bitcoin can count as proof of wealth in mortgage applications. All of this is happening under Trump's watch. With regulation finally catching up, the crypto market is booming. Let's be honest: most people associate crypto with pump-and-dump coins, monkey JPEGs, or Elon Musk tweets. Stablecoins are different. They're pegged to the dollar and engineered not to swing wildly in value. Think of them as PayPal with a blockchain backend. That's why big players are all experimenting with stablecoins for payments. It's also why lawmakers are embracing them. NFTs were a joke. Stablecoins are serious. Despite the sheen of legitimacy, crypto is still crawling with meme coins and scams. Thousands of new coins launch every month. According to CoinGecko, there are 17,533 listed cryptocurrencies as of time of writing. Some skyrocket in price, vanish overnight, and leave no trace. Others are outright fraud. In 2024, crypto scams led to $5.8 billion in reported losses, according to the FBI. A recent Department of Justice investigation seized $225 million linked to 'pig butchering' schemes, a long-con scams that drain victims over time using fake crypto investments. And AI is only making them harder to spot. This new golden era didn't happen by accident. Crypto firms and super PACs spent more than $180 million in the 2024 election cycle, outspending every other industry group. Their PAC, Fairshake, helped elect dozens of pro-crypto lawmakers. Now they have a president who returns the favor. Trump not only praises the industry, his sons actively invest in it, from tokens to mining operations. As long as he's in office, crypto has a seat at the table. Crypto is having a moment. Regulation is finally friendly. Investors are confident. And the White House is all-in. But the industry's greatest enemy is still itself. Crypto has a pattern: boom, hype, crash, repeat. If it wants to be treated like Wall Street, it must leave the casino behind and clean up its scams. Right now, it has the wind at its back. And for once, that wind is coming from Washington.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump shares shocking strategy to take pressure off dollar
Trump shares shocking strategy to take pressure off dollar originally appeared on TheStreet. President Donald Trump thinks adopting Bitcoin as a payment option can take pressure off the U.S. dollar. He said: "I noticed more and more you pay in Bitcoin... I mean, people are saying it takes a lot of pressure off the dollar, and it's a great thing for our country.' Trump made the remarks while responding to a reporter's question regarding his personal crypto ventures at a press conference in the White House on June 27. A reporter asked the president about many Democrats having talked about not supporting crypto-related bills in Congress only because of his and his family's personal crypto ventures and therefore, him being open to pulling out of these personal crypto ventures just for the next few years so that these bills can pass in the next few months. Trump's response was, "Well, it's a very funny thing — crypto." He said he became a fan of crypto, and he considers it an "industry." If the U.S. didn't have the crypto industry, China would lap it up, Trump reasoned. "We have created a very powerful industry, and that's much more important than anything that we invest in." Trump continued that the crypto industry wasn't in very good shape earlier, and he got involved with it before he decided to run for president for the second time. The Biden administration was "crooked and incompetent" regarding crypto, but the industry has now become "amazing," he added. The president finally addressed the involvement of the Trump family with crypto ventures. "I don't care about investing," he said but added that his kids invest in different assets they believe in. Meme coins, the USD1 stablecoin, Bitcoin mining, and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — there is hardly any crypto segment that the family isn't involved with. Trump reiterated that as the U.S. president, he built the crypto industry, which is very important because if the U.S. didn't, China would. Since assuming the presidential office for the second term in January, Trump has indeed pursued an aggressive pro-crypto policy. Not only did he sign an executive order to establish the strategic Bitcoin reserve, but his administration is also trying to pass crypto bills related to stablecoins and market structure. However, Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have raised questions over alleged conflicts of interest arising from the Trump family's involvement with multiple crypto ventures. Trump shares shocking strategy to take pressure off dollar first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 27, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
Bloomberg
18-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Crypto: Trump-Backed Stablecoin Bill Passed, Fed Rate Decision Day
The US Senate passed stablecoin legislation setting up regulatory rules for cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar, in a landmark win for the ascendant crypto industry and President Donald Trump. The 68-30 vote on Tuesday evening marked a rare moment of bipartisanship in the deeply divided Senate, despite Republicans blocking Democratic efforts to bar Trump from profiting from his many crypto ventures while in office. Stocks and bonds posted small gains, with investors staying on the sidelines before the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and release of new forecasts for the economy. Oil pulled back from a near five-month high. The Opening Trade has everything you need to know as markets open across Europe. With analysis you won't find anywhere else, we break down the biggest stories of the day and speak to top guests who have skin in the game. Hosted by Guy Johnson, Kriti Gupta and Lizzy Burden. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Senate Passes Stablecoin Bill in Win for Crypto, Trump
The US Senate passed stablecoin legislation setting up regulatory rules for cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar, in a landmark win for the ascendant crypto industry and President Donald Trump. The 68-30 vote on Tuesday evening marked a rare moment of bipartisanship in the deeply divided Senate, despite Republicans blocking Democratic efforts to bar Trump from profiting from his many crypto ventures while in office.
