Legislation that would create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies passed a procedural hurdle in the Senate Wednesday, moving one step closer to passage, Politico reported.
The Senate voted 68-30 to move forward on the GENIUS Act, with several changes made by Republicans to win over Democrats to cross the 60-vote threshold.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said the bill, which he proposed, “takes a common-sense, bipartisan approach to regulating stablecoins.”
The bill creates the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for digital tokens known as stablecoins that are pegged to the value of the dollar, Politico said. The industry is currently governed by a patchwork of existing federal and state laws.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the leading Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, has been critical of the bill, saying Wednesday it “is riddled with loopholes and contains weak safeguards for consumers, national security and financial stability.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also opposes the bill, while Democrats like Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey and John Hickenlooper of Colorado voted for the procedural motion.
Republicans have won support from Democrats after strengthening regulations on foreign issuers, beefing up enforcement, and barring large tech companies like Meta and Google from issuing their own stablecoins.
Stablecoins are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that have produced enormous profits for some of the major players involved. They offer a buffer from cryptocurrency’s notorious volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. Typically, that means a single stablecoin is worth $1, making stablecoins a much more reliable digital asset for commercial transactions than other forms of crypto.
The Senate will begin voting on the underlying bill later this week, Politico said, with voting as soon as Monday on the final passage of the bill.
“It’s time to move forward and pass the legislation,”said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “The version of the GENIUS Act that we will invoke cloture on today reflects months of hard work and negotiations from members on both sides of the aisle.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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