The “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins of 2025” (GENIUS Act), a bipartisan bill currently making its way through Congress, aims to provide the first robust regulatory framework for the sometimes volatile cryptocurrency market. If passed into law, the measure could set the stage for digital currency to further revolutionize the U.S. and global economy.
The GENIUS Act moved one step closer to passage through the Senate this week when 18 Democrats voted with Republicans to end debate on the measure. After some controversy over proposed amendments that threatened to tank the bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune ultimately opted to move forward without any votes on amendments.
While the legislation still faces several more v, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said that she expects a final vote on the bill next week. The House would still have to pass the bill before sending it to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.
But what is the GENIUS Act, and what does it mean for the financial future of everyday Americans?
The “stablecoins” the bill’s title refers to are, simply put, a type of digital money that’s designed to keep a steady value — usually tied to something like the U.S. dollar. Unlike Bitcoin, which can have wild swings in value, one stablecoin is meant to always be worth about one dollar. People use stablecoins online to send money quickly, hold value safely, or trade other cryptocurrencies without worrying about big price swings.
Stablecoins are favored by some because they are stored digitally and are transferred faster than waiting for a transaction to be processed by your bank or for a check to clear. Amid the rise of cryptocurrency generally, stablecoins are also gaining popularity. There was at least $161 billion worth of stablecoins in existence as of October 2024, according to Forbes.
The GENIUS Act would require that stablecoins be tied to the U.S. dollar, U.S. Treasuries, or another stable equivalent. The bill also requires companies to maintain significant reserves to prevent a run on them like the periodic bank runs on paper money throughout American history.
Proponents of the bill argue it is necessary to ensure no one is taken advantage of or cheated out of their money by unscrupulous companies selling other cryptocurrencies. (Sometimes the term “bitcoin” is used colloquially to refer to crypto, but bitcoin is just one type of cryptocurrency.)
California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has tracked at least 387 different scams related to crypto. The Cleveland Scene reported on one man who lost $500,000 via a crypto scam. Seniors and older Americans are particularly vulnerable to these scams, as they may be unfamiliar with cryptocurrency terminology or practices.
The bill’s bipartisan backing speaks to the urgency of the issue for both parties. The legislation was first introduced by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
According to Hagerty, the GENIUS Act will “cement U.S. dollar dominance, protect customers, increase demand for U.S. treasuries, and ensure that innovation in the digital asset space is in the hands of the United States of America, not our adversaries.”
Gillibrand echoed similar themes about innovation and putting America first, saying the law “will provide regulatory clarity to this important industry, keep innovation on shore, add robust consumer protection, and reaffirm the dominance of the U.S. dollar.”
Under the provisions of the bill, companies would need to release a “monthly public disclosure of [their] reserve composition” and large stablecoin creators would need to release “annual audited financial statements,” according to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
As ABC News describes it, the law would treat stablecoins like cash, ensuring savings are protected from volatility.
“The bill sets rules for stablecoin issuers, including a mandate that firms hold a reserve of assets underlying the cryptocurrency,” the outlet reported. “That stipulation aims to protect consumers, who otherwise risk a failure to cash out their holdings in the event of a rapid, widespread offloading of coins.”
The law also would “require issuers to grant coin holders priority for repayment in the event of a bankruptcy” and “mandates issuers abide by some anti-money laundering rules and anti-terrorism sanctions.”
The Trump administration has indicated that it generally supports the law, and the president has notably sought to establish himself as a leader in the cryptocurrency space. Last July, then-candidate Trump gave the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, promising to make America the world leader in cryptocurrency technology.
Still, there are some conservative Republicans who take issue with the proposal.
“It’s a huge giveaway to Big Tech,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told The New York Times. He said the law as written does not do enough to protect the data of citizens. “It allows these tech companies to issue stablecoins without any kind of controls,” Hawley told the Times. “I don’t see why we would do that.”
Hawley argues that Big Tech companies like Meta, the parent company of Facebook, would likely try to create their own stablecoins, which he fears would lead to an exploitation of data.
Passage of the law has also been held up over attempts by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) to use the GENIUS Act to pass their own legislation on credit cards, the Credit Card Competition Act, which “would require big bank card issuers to ensure that merchants have options beyond Visa and Mastercard for processing transactions when consumers swipe their credit cards,” according to Payments Dive.
Attempts to add other language to the law have already drawn criticism from Vice President JD Vance and trade groups like America’s Credit Unions. They support a “clean” GENIUS Act.
If proponents of the GENIUS Act are correct, the law could make stablecoins a safer and more practical option for everyday Americans. By requiring that each coin be backed by real assets like U.S. dollars or Treasury securities, the law helps ensure that consumers can trust the value of the digital money they hold. That means faster transactions, fewer fees, and the convenience of digital payments—without the risk of losing everything overnight.
Whether or not the GENIUS Act becomes law, one thing is certain: the era of digital money is here, and Washington can no longer afford to ignore it. As Americans increasingly turn to cryptocurrencies for payments, savings, and investment, the need for a clear, secure, and pro-American regulatory framework is more urgent than ever.
AMAC Newsline contributor Matt Lamb is an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.
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