Senate advances stablecoin bill with bipartisan support
The GENIUS Act aims to establish regulatory guidelines for stablecoins
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Senator Bill Hagerty’s GENIUS Act — aiming to establish regulatory guidelines for stablecoin issuers — advanced to the Senate floor today after a Banking Committee markup.
If there’s bipartisan support for the legislation, it was not apparent during today’s debate. Democrats put forth a number of amendments to the bill, urging lawmakers to adopt further protections against money laundering and consider more strict guidelines for issuers to receive licenses.
Republican Committee members voted against all of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposed amendments, often with little debate. Hagerty and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, the Act’s main champions, argued the current bill includes AML provisions, robust reserve guidelines, and a strict registration process for issuers.
Democrat proposals would only increase regulatory oversight without increasing consumer protection, Lummis added.
At one point Sen. Warren criticized her Republican colleagues and accused them of “steamrolling” Democrats to advance the bill.
In the end, four Democrats (Sens. Warner, Kim, Blunt-Rochester and Gellego) voted to move the bill out of committee and to the floor.
The GENIUS Act now moves to the full Senate, which will debate the legislation, potentially add amendments, and eventually vote. Should it pass, the legislation will move to the House.
Representatives on the House Financial Services Committee are currently considering a similar bill, the STABLE Act, which they discussed earlier this week in a hearing. The legislation is still in the discussion draft phase and has not formally been introduced.
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