House Closes Crypto Week with Three Bills 

Crypto week wrapped up in the House of Representatives Thursday night with the passage of three bills establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins.  

The GENIUS Act passed 308-122 with bipartisan support in the House. The GENIUS Act had already passed the Senate by a comfortable margin. The bill now heads to the President’s desk.  

The GENIUS Act will provide clear definitions for stablecoins, a type of crypto pegged to the value of another asset like dollars or precious metals. The bill stipulates that Stablecoin issuers must hold dollar reserves commensurate with the value of stablecoins issued. Stablecoin is growing in use in emerging markets, and this legislation will empower banks to issue their own stablecoins.  

Without this legislation, the stablecoin market will stagnate in America as it grows rapidly overseas. Additionally, 99% of stablecoins are pegged to the United States dollar streamlining stablecoin issuance will help affirm the USD as the primary global currency. 

In addition to the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act and the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) State Surveillance Act both passed the House Thursday night as well and will now head to the Senate. The CLARITY Act is a market structure bill that defines regulatory jurisdictions for crypto assets. It passed with bipartisan support, 294-134. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act passed 219-210. All three bills drew some bipartisan support, but the CBDC bill is largely opposed by Democrats. 

The CLARITY Act will fix years of regulatory ambiguity and divide oversight of digital assets between the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This legislation was largely bipartisan with 78 Democrats voting with Republicans. The bill brings much-needed clarity and establishes a digital currency regulatory framework. Chairman Tim Scott of the Senate Banking Committee plans to finish the legislation by September 30^th. Rep. French Hill, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, made a statement praising the bill and called for the Senate to enact the CLARITY Act to boost innovation. 

Today, the House passed landmark legislation that establishes clear rules of the road by creating a functional regulatory framework for digital assets. This is the pivotal moment for American innovation and a critical step forward in protecting consumers and investors alike.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currency without direct authorization. This will prevent the Fed from competing with private sector issuers or using CBDCs to implement monetary policy. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are government-controlled and would lead to tighter monetary control. The fate of this bill is far less certain than the other two pieces of legislation with many vocal critics in the Senate. Passage of the bill is essential to limiting the power of the Federal Reserve and keeping digital currency free and open for greater development and innovation. The Senate should also send the Anti-CBDC state Surveillance Act to President Trump’s desk as soon as they can assemble a bipartisan coalition to protect the industry from government competition. 

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who sponsored the CBDC bill, released a statement in support of the passage yesterday evening. 

For years, we have worked to educate our colleagues on the dangers of this insidious technology, which would undermine our values and destroy Americans’ right to privacy. President Trump understands this threat and has already issued an Executive Order preventing the development of a CBDC. Now, we must codify it to ensure that the United States’ digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people so that any future development of digital cash reflects our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness. We are proud to have led this years-long effort, and thank our colleagues for their support.

Crypto Week was a huge success for digital currency and fintech innovation. The legislation passed will create more defined regulatory oversight for digital currency, limit the Federal Reserve’s power, and establish legal certainty for Stablecoin, a crypto designed to be tied to currency. It is now essential that the Senate take up the CLARITY act and Anti-CBDC State Surveillance Act and send them to President Trump’s desk.