US Senate Advances GENIUS Bill

The US Senate made significant progress toward regulating stablecoins on Wednesday, voting 68–30 to invoke cloture on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act).

This procedural move limits further debate and sets the stage for a final vote on the legislation, more than a month after its introduction.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Majority Leader John Thune called on lawmakers to back the bill, aligning with President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance by asserting it could position the US as the “crypto capital of the world.”

Thune also emphasized the national security benefits of stablecoins and declared:

“It’s time to move forward and pass this legislation.”

The bill, which now heads toward full Senate consideration before potentially advancing to the House, gained support from a bipartisan majority, including several Democrats.

Senator Bill Hagerty, the bill’s lead sponsor, described the GENIUS Act as a “common-sense, bipartisan approach” to regulating stablecoins.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a co-architect of the bill, praised the vote as a win for both innovation and national security.

Speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, Scott said:

“Let me be clear, this did not happen by accident. It happened because we led. To those who said Washington could not act, to those who doubted bipartisanship — let’s prove them wrong.”

Thune also noted that broader legislative efforts around digital assets are still underway.

Thune noted:

“We want to bring cryptocurrency into the mainstream, and the GENIUS Act will help us do that.”

In parallel, the House is moving forward with the CLARITY Act—a separate bill focused on market structure—after two House committees voted Tuesday to advance it, signaling further momentum for digital asset regulation in Congress.

Opposition From Within: Democrats Challenge the Bill

Several prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, opposed the GENIUS Act.

Others, such as Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, broke ranks to join Republicans in supporting the measure.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Warren voiced strong reservations, citing “core problems” in the bill that remained unresolved due to the chamber’s refusal to consider certain bipartisan amendments.

She also echoed broader Democratic concerns over former President Trump’s connections to World Liberty Financial—a crypto platform reportedly backed by his family—and criticised recent efforts to reward meme coin holders with perks like private dinners and access to Trump himself.

Warren pointed out:

“Through his crypto business, Trump has created an efficient means to trade presidential favors like tariff exemptions, pardons, and government appointments for hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of dollars from foreign governments, from billionaires, and from large corporations. By passing the GENIUS Act, the Senate is not only about to bless this corruption, but to actively facilitate its expansion.”

She added:

“The GENIUS Act is riddled with loopholes and contains weak safeguards for consumers, national security, and financial stability.”

Will It Survive the Senate, House—and Trump?

The GENIUS Act would require stablecoins to be fully backed by US dollars or similarly liquid assets, with issuers holding over $50 billion in market value subject to annual independent audits.

The legislation also aims to tighten regulatory oversight on stablecoins issued abroad.

On Monday, advisers to former President Trump signalled support for the bill, aligning with Trump’s public call to see stablecoin legislation on his desk before August.

In a statement of administration policy, they said:

“If S. 1582 were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisors would recommend that he sign it into law.”

The Senate’s recent vote to invoke cloture sets the stage for a final vote on the GENIUS Act as early as Monday—unless congressional leaders agree to shorten the remaining debate period, a Senate aide confirmed.

Yet the bill’s trajectory beyond the Senate remains uncertain.

In the House, the Financial Services Committee has already advanced its own proposal, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act, which passed out of committee by a 32–17 vote in May but has yet to reach the full House floor.

The Senate and House bills differ in key areas, including how regulatory authority is divided between federal and state agencies, and how foreign stablecoin issuers like Tether would be handled.

Lawmakers from both chambers will need to reconcile these differences in a conference committee before any unified legislation can be sent to the president.

Although many Democrats voted to advance the GENIUS Act by invoking cloture, some continue to push for Republican support on proposed amendments.

With Republicans holding only a slim majority in the Senate, the bill’s ultimate passage remains uncertain.

After the bill’s initial cloture failure in May, Trump’s AI and crypto advisor, David Sacks, projected bipartisan support for the bill’s eventual approval.

Meanwhile, the House’s companion legislation, the STABLE Act, remains under active review by the Financial Services Committee.