The US Genius Act is followed by the Market Structure Act, which will be reviewed by the Senate Banking Committee on the 15th.

Following the passage of the Genius Act last year, which regulates stablecoins, the US Congress is accelerating the enactment of the Market Structure Act, bringing the completion of the so-called "Three Virtual Currency Acts" within sight. This is considered a significant watershed moment, shifting the US virtual currency regulatory system, which has relied on enforcement and litigation, to a federal framework.

According to foreign media reports on the 2nd, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will hold a markup on the Digital Asset Market Structure Act on the 15th (local time). The markup is the first formal deliberation process following months of closed-door negotiations, which involves final review and revision of the text before bringing the bill to the plenary session for a vote.



The Market Structure Act builds on the Clarity Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in July of last year. Its core objective is to clearly delineate the virtual currency market oversight responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and to reorganize market oversight authority around the CFTC. It aims to reduce regulatory uncertainty, which has hindered the development of the U.S. virtual currency industry due to the risk of the SEC's unregistered securities regulations, and is considered one of the so-called "three virtual currency laws" promoted by the Trump administration, along with the Genius Act and the anti-CBDC law.

Key issues that delayed legislative discussions last year are expected to return to the table during today's deliberations. In particular, the debate surrounding interest-bearing stablecoins is said to be a major variable. The Genius Act, passed last year, prohibited stablecoin issuers from directly paying interest or profits to holders, but did not explicitly block compensation through third parties.

Taking advantage of this regulatory gap, PayPal offers holders of its own stablecoin, PayPalUSD (PYUSD), a 4% annual yield through its payment app Venmo, rather than through its issuer, Paxos. Circle, the issuer of USDC, also offers annualized rewards on the platform of Coinbase, a major shareholder.

Banks are reportedly urging Congress to comprehensively ban all forms of stablecoin interest payments under the Market Structure Act, arguing that this structure effectively serves as a means of circumventing interest payment regulations. This issue directly impacts the competitive landscape between stablecoins and traditional bank deposits, making it a key focus of recent banking lobbying.

The political debate surrounding conflict of interest regulations is also a burden. With the issue of President Donald Trump and his family's involvement in cryptocurrency businesses coming to light, calls are being raised for separate conflict of interest prevention regulations to restrict cryptocurrency-related activities by politicians and their families.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) regulation also requires further discussion. While the current Senate draft focuses on centralized intermediaries like exchanges and custodians, some in the traditional financial sector are pushing for regulation to include decentralized, non-custodial entities. This would significantly expand the scope of federal oversight.

For the bill to pass the Senate, bipartisan agreement on these issues is essential. Even if it clears the committee threshold at this markup, it will still need 60 votes to conclude debate on the floor.

BeInCrypto, a cryptocurrency media outlet, said, “It is reported that the gap surrounding the issue has narrowed considerably since the congressional recess in December last year,” and predicted that, “If the bill passes, it will reduce legal uncertainty and strengthen investor protection, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the United States in competition with foreign countries that already have integrated cryptocurrency regulations.”

Reporter Kim Jeong-woo