US Senate Takes Major Step Towards Advancing Stablecoin Bill
The first committee approval of a stablecoin bill in this new session of Congress now moves the so-called GENIUS Act to the Senate floor.
Jesse Hamilton, Cheyenne Ligon | Edited by Nikhilesh De Updated Mar 13, 2025 17:32 UTC Published Mar 13, 2025 16:51 UTC
What to consider:
- The US Senate Banking Committee has given the green light to a bill to regulate stablecoin issuers, approving it with an 18-6 vote.
- After gaining approval in the first committee, the stablecoin oversight bill has become a major step toward becoming law in the U.S., though it still needs to go through a similar process in the House of Representatives and then gain approval from both chambers in a final vote.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has introduced legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency stablecoin space, marking the first major step toward the bill being sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.
After clearing the committee, the bill, which would regulate stablecoin issuers at the federal level, now needs to pass the full Senate, while a similar version awaits approval in the House. Despite facing several hurdles, including the potential merger of various bills from both chambers, the committee advanced the bill by an 18-6 vote.
Many Democrats on the committee acknowledged the bill's importance while also trying to add several amendments to impose additional regulations and restrictions, all of which were rejected on party-line votes.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the panel, voiced her colleagues' objections to several provisions of the bill, arguing that in its current form it poses a “clear threat to our national security.” Warren grew increasingly frustrated during the 2 1/2-hour hearing as each of her proposed amendments to the bill was rejected.
“It would be crazy to move forward with this bill when it has so many flaws that have already been pointed out, and to do so right when news is breaking that Donald Trump is trying to create his own stablecoin with an organization known for wrongdoing,” Warren said near the end of the hearing, referring to a report that Trump-linked World Liberty Financial had discussed partnering with cryptocurrency exchange Binance. “To move this forward while Donald Trump is out there making a deal with a criminal stablecoin platform makes no sense. We’re going to regret it.”
Another Democrat, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, expressed frustration that Republicans on the committee ignored discussions during markups — a type of hearing designed to consider and debate amendments to the bill — and some of them did not attend the hearings.
“It's a good start, but the bill is not ready for widespread use yet,” the senator said of the Republican-backed legislation.
“The markups are a mess,” responded commission Chairman Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican. “We worked nights, days and weekends to get this done.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican who was the bill’s primary sponsor, described the Guidance and Establishment of National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) as a “truly bipartisan effort” that included Democrats. Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
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