Senator Bill Hagerty said the U.S. stablecoin bill could be debated and passed next week.
Senator Bill Hagerty, who backed the Senate’s version of the legislation, predicted the body will “make history” next week by passing the bill.
What to know:
- Senators Bill Hagerty and Kirsten Gillibrand, a Republican and a Democrat who have advocated for stablecoin legislation, are saying the bill may clear the Senate as soon as next week.
- The Senate hit a bumpy road on what had earlier seemed like it could become a relatively easy and significant win for the crypto industry, but Democrats raised last-minute objections in the negotiations.
Despite recent setbacks, U.S. legislation to regulate stablecoin issuers may be heading toward debate and passage next week, according to the backers of the bill known as the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins” (GENIUS) Act.
“Next week, the Senate will make history when we debate and pass the GENIUS Act that establishes the first ever pro-growth regulatory framework for payment stablecoins,” said Senator Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican who sponsored the bill to set U.S. standards for stablecoins, which are typically dollar-based tokens such as Circle’s USDC$0.99987 and Tether’s USDT$1.00 that are vital to crypto trading activity.
The latest draft of the bill began circulating this week, and a copy seen by CoinDesk showed language had been adjusted in modest ways to help satisfy Democrats concerned with consumer protection and national security elements. In one addition, the bill insisted the big public companies such as Meta wouldn’t be approved as issuers of the tokens, though consumer advocates cautioned that private companies such as Elon Musk’s social media site X would be eligible.
Hagerty paired his statement with one from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York Democrat who has also pushed this legislation. Her sentiment carried what may have been a shade less confidence about the outcome, and the two lawmakers have ample reason to put a strong public face on a negotiation that’s faced headwinds.
“Stablecoins are already playing an important role in the global economy, and it is essential that the U.S. enact legislation that protects consumers, while also enabling responsible innovations,” Gillibrand said in the statement, contending that “robust consumer protections” are included in the latest version. “The crafting of this bill has been a true bipartisan effort, and I’m optimistic we can pass it in the coming days.”
The Senate has experienced considerable volatility on the bill in the past two weeks, with its recent failure to clear a so-called cloture vote that would have moved it forward into a formal debate. It’s headed toward a second vote on Monday in which it needs 60 votes to advance, which would need to include several Democrats. The Senate would then have some time to continue debating the language and possibly make changes before moving on to actually passing the bill.
Democrats had been critical of its potential for abuse and for stablecoin involvement from corporate giants, but the biggest stink has been raised around President Donald Trump’s own interest in crypto businesses, including World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin play.
