Three bills relating to cryptocurrency have been passed by the US House of Representatives, one of which is sent to US President Donald Trump and the other two to the US Senate.
The Republican-controlled chamber’s votes come as part of the Trump administration’s wider campaign to declare the United States the “crypto capital of the world” (crypto week) in the president’s lexicon.
Concerns that the largely unregulated crypto industry may be used to cover up corruption and foreign influence have also been raised by Trump and his family.
The GENIUS Act is the name of the bill that will directly benefit Trump. It establishes consumer protections and initial security for a cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, which are tied to “stable” assets like the US dollar to lessen volatility.
During the debate on Thursday, House Financial Services Chair French Hill stated that the bill will “secure American competitiveness and strong guardrails for our consumers.”
Payment systems are experiencing a revolution, he said, “all over the world.”
The bill was approved by the Senate and the House, which passed it by a 308-122 vote. In both chambers, it won bipartisan support.
A new cryptocurrency market structure would be created by a second bill. It was defeated by a slimmer margin of 294 to 134, and it will now have to go to the Senate to be revised.
The legislation seeks to clarify how digital assets are regulated, most notably by defining which cryptocurrency types should be treated as commodities that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates and which are securities-policed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Securities, like stocks and bonds, typically refer to partial ownership of an asset, while commodities are typically regarded as goods that can be traded or sold.
A third bill, which was defeated by a narrow margin of 219 to 210, would essentially ban the US from offering a “central bank digital currency,” or “digital cash” in its purest form. Additionally, it will enter the Senate.
Trump’s crypto-related interests
Since 2009, the popularity of cryptocurrencies, which are unmoored from any central government authority, has soared.
However, experts claim that ambiguous laws have prevented US operations. Advocates have claimed that the bills that were passed on Thursday could encourage more widespread adoption.
Democrats who were critical of the GENIUS bill continued to criticize Republicans for passing the legislation without addressing Trump’s and upcoming presidents’ cryptocurrency interests.
For instance, a provision of the bill prohibits members of Congress and their immediate families from obtaining stablecoins. The president and his family are not subject to that prohibition.
Trump’s family owns a sizable stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that just launched its own stablecoin, USD1. According to a public financial disclosure made in June, Trump claimed to have made $57.35 million in token sales for World Liberty Financial in 2024.
Although the profits are split between several investors, a meme coin that he coined has also generated an estimated $ 320 million in fees.
In the midst of the flurry of votes on Thursday, Representative Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services panel, said, “No one should be surprised that these same Republicans’ next order of business is to validate, legitimise, and endorse the Trump family’s corruption and efforts to sell the White House to the highest bidder.”
Trump has also suggested creating a “national reserve” for cryptocurrency since taking office, and he has suspended Department of Justice investigations involving the subject.
Some Democrats also criticized the GENIUS bill for creating an “overly weak” regulatory framework that could put long-term financial risks.
Source: Aljazeera
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