The U.S. Senate has fired the starting gun on stablecoin regulation, pushing through a landmark bill that could reshape America’s approach to digital currency. With a 68-30 vote, lawmakers approved the so-called GENIUS Act—short for “Guardrails for the Emerging National Infrastructure of United Stablecoins”—a bipartisan attempt to tame the volatile world of crypto-backed tokens while cracking open the gates for their wider use.
At the heart of the bill: stablecoins must now be backed by hard, liquid assets—think cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bills. And no more smoke and mirrors—issuers will have to publicly reveal what’s in their reserves every month. It’s Washington’s boldest step yet into the blockchain trenches.
But before it lands on President Trump’s desk, it still needs to clear the House, where Republicans hold the gavel. Trump’s administration, eyeing a sweeping reset of federal crypto policy, is cheering the move—though critics say the cheering is a bit too loud for comfort.
“It’s a major milestone,” said a former White House economic official now turned private sector legal strategist. “For the first time, we’re seeing serious architecture being built around a financial product that’s exploded in relevance.”
Stablecoins are designed to keep their value fixed, usually tied 1:1 with the U.S. dollar. Traders love them for quickly moving funds across tokens. But their rise has triggered fear among regulators who see risks hiding behind the tech jargon—money laundering, consumer vulnerability, and national security exposures, to name a few.
The crypto lobby knows how to throw its weight around. In the last election cycle alone, the industry dropped $119 million into pro-crypto political campaigns, hungry for regulatory clarity and legitimacy.
The House passed a version of this bill last year, but Senate Democrats, then in control, iced it. Now with Trump back in power and the industry back in his corner—he’s even dabbling in meme coins and crypto firms himself—the bill is surging forward.
Critics aren’t staying quiet. Some Democrats accuse the legislation of opening floodgates for Big Tech to launch private currencies, dodging oversight. Others see it as a vehicle for legitimizing what they call Trump’s “crypto grift,” including his meme token $TRUMP and a crypto firm tied to his family.
“This bill turbocharges the stablecoin market while greasing the wheels of corruption and undercutting national security,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren, who hasn’t held back her fire on the Senate floor.
There’s turbulence ahead. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors says the bill hands too much power to uninsured banks, potentially skirting state regulators. They’re demanding amendments before it becomes law.
Whether this is crypto’s big break or another bout of digital overreach depends on how the House plays its cards—and how deeply the political fault lines continue to crack.
