US Senate Prepares to Vote on GENIUS Act, Creating the First Federal Legal Framework for Stablecoins, Strengthening USD Position and Promoting Crypto Innovation.
The cryptocurrency market is heading towards a historic turning point as the US Senate is expected to pass the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act this week. The bipartisan bill is expected to redefine the legal framework for stablecoins while consolidating the dominant position of the US dollar in the digital asset ecosystem.
This information was confirmed after Senator Bill Hagerty (Republican, Tennessee) and Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat, New York) issued a joint statement in Nashville on May 16, expressing strong support for the bill. The statement came just days after the bill failed to pass the cloture vote in the Senate on May 8, receiving only 48 votes out of the 60 needed to continue the process.
"Next week, the Senate will make history as we pass the GENIUS Act—the first regulatory framework to promote growth for payment stablecoins," Senator Hagerty stated in a post on the X platform on Friday. He further emphasized: "This bill will strengthen the dollar's dominant position, protect customers, increase demand for US Treasury Bonds, and ensure that innovation in digital assets remains in US hands, not those of our competitors."
Bipartisan Cooperation for Regulatory Clarity
Despite recent voting obstacles, the two senators representing both Republican and Democratic parties remain determined to push the bill forward. Senator Gillibrand emphasized the increasingly important role of stablecoins in the global economy and the necessity of careful oversight.
"Stablecoins have played a crucial role in the global economy; the US needs to enact laws that both protect consumers and allow responsible innovation," Gillibrand stated. She described the process of developing the GENIUS Act as a substantive bipartisan collaborative effort and expressed optimism that the bill could still gather the necessary support in the upcoming vote.
"The bipartisan GENIUS Act will provide regulatory clarity for this important sector, keep innovation domestic, add a strong layer of consumer protection, and reaffirm the dominant position of the US dollar," Gillibrand emphasized.
The GENIUS bill is considered an important step in establishing a clear legal framework for stablecoins – a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain stable value relative to a reference asset like the US dollar. While concerns about over-regulation persist among some critics, bill supporters argue that establishing clear rules will promote innovation and increase investor confidence in the cryptocurrency market.
