Trump expected to sign stablecoin regulation Genius Act into law

Editorial

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Congress defines the Genius Act, also known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, as providing “regulation of payment stablecoins” making it “unlawful for any person other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer to issue a payment stablecoin in the United States.”

This regulation is the first major national cryptocurrency legislation to be passed by US lawmakers, setting up a regulation for this type of cryptocurrency that is percieved as reliable, or stable. After the House passed the bill this week, US President Trump is expected to sign the legislation into law before the end of this week. 

The Clarity Act, also known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which was also passed by the House aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, prevents the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, directly to individuals or indirectly through intermediaries. The latter regulation also prohibits the use of a CBDC for monetary policy implementation and requires Congressional authorisation before a CBDC can be developed or issued. 

House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill celebrates the passage 308 to 122 and states that this was a “historic turning point. President Trump called on Congress to send him landmark legislation to his desk by August and we have delivered.”

However, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the leading Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, shares that the bill lacks the provisions needed to “maintain the longstanding separation of banking and commerce, protect consumers, preserve our national security, promote financial stability, and importantly, fails to address glaring conflicts of interest raised by the actions of President Trump and his Administration.”