Dated: 2025-06-17. Added: 2025-06-17.
The Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, putting the cryptocurrency industry, which had long been viewed with suspicion by lawmakers in Washington, on the brink of a major policy breakthrough.
Bipartisan approval of the bill, known as the GENIUS Act, followed an aggressive lobbying campaign aimed at transforming the cryptocurrency industry’s image from scandal-plagued experiment to legitimate financial sector.
Senate passage came over the fierce objections of many Democrats, who warned that the measure lacked strict-enough regulations or oversight to prevent abuses, including anti-corruption rules that would bar President Trump and his family from continuing to profit from cryptocurrency.
The bill still must be passed by the House and signed by the president. But the 68-30 vote in the Senate marked the first time the chamber has approved major cryptocurrency legislation. It represented a significant step toward giving the industry what it has long sought from Washington: the credibility that comes with federal oversight.