WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled House passed a trio of bills on July 17 that amount to a big win for a cryptocurrency industry that has helped make President Donald Trump tens of millions of dollars.
A piece of the landmark legislation package, dubbed the GENIUS Act, creates a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of an asset like the U.S. dollar.
Advocates say the primary bill will help protect consumers and set industry standards that could allow stablecoins to become mainstream for digital payments and other financial instruments.
The main bill, approved by the Senate in June, passed the House by a vote of 308-122, with all Republicans and several Democrats voting in favor. It is now headed to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
“This is a historic opportunity for the United States. After years of work, American innovators are one step closer to having the clarity they need to build here at home while ensuring the future of the digital economy reflects our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness,” Republican Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota said in a statement.
However, House leadership had hit unexpected hurdles midweek while trying to advance the three crypto bills, with the first procedural votes on July 16 breaking a record for the chamber by lasting about nine hours.
One measure barring the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank for cryptocurrency was a particular sticking point, with Republicans debating how to best set the bill up to succeed in a future Senate vote. It passed the lower chamber on July 17 entirely with GOP support in a 219-210 vote that fell along party lines.
The Clarity Act, which defines when a cryptocurrency is a security or a commodity and clarifies the Securities and Exchange Commission’s jurisdiction over the entire financial sector, also passed the House on July 17 and must head to the Senate.
Senate Democrats have voiced concerns about Trump’s connections to the cryptocurrency industry.
“The GENIUS Act will accelerate Trump’s corruption by supercharging the size of the stablecoin market and the reach and profitability of USD1,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, on the Senate floor in May.
One of the biggest money-making ventures for Trump was World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency platform launched last year. It brought in $57.3 million and it launched USD1, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin.
Trump also held a dinner in May for the top purchasers of the $TRUMP meme coin, owned by an affiliate of The Trump Organization.
However, supporters of the bill maintained that it could help safeguard investors and help Americans have greater access to the financial system.
“The golden age of digital assets is here, and the U.S. will lead,” said Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil in a statement.
Contributing: Riley Beggin, Medora Lee and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House passes landmark cryptocurrency bills to regulate stablecoin
