Crypto execs flock to DC to support Senate stablecoin bill

Crypto founders headed to Washington, DC, to meet with lawmakers ahead of another expected vote on a stablecoin bill that initially failed in the Senate, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

In a May 14 X post from the US Capitol rotunda, Armstrong said as many as “60 [crypto] founders” had gathered in DC to support the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, being considered in the Senate and a draft of the market structure bill moving through the House of Representatives.

The Coinbase CEO said the Senate could consider another vote on the GENIUS Act “hopefully tomorrow” after it failed to get enough support from Democrats on May 8.

“Like any good negotiation, there’s a lot of details to work out at the last minute, but we’ve been stressing the urgency of this,” said Armstrong.

Many Democratic lawmakers have said they will not support any crypto-related legislation without a specific carve-out for US President Donald Trump profiting from his digital asset ventures, such as his TRUMP memecoin and his family-backed company World Liberty Financial.

A Democratic staffer told Cointelegraph that there had been no indication that Republicans intended to address these concerns, while a person familiar with the matter said doing so would be unconstitutional.

The Senate resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of the GENIUS Act on May 12, suggesting another vote in a matter of days. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Related: What are the next steps for the US stablecoin bill?

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the Senate and House and will likely require Democratic support for the stablecoin and market structure bills to pass. Before the 2024 election, some Democrats voted with Republicans for crypto legislation offering clarity on regulations.

Should the GENIUS bill’s sponsor and co-sponsors try to move forward with a vote without any changes, it’s unclear whether they would have enough support to clear a 60-vote majority and avoid a filibuster, which could delay or block the bill.

“Despite the politics around the TRUMP memecoin and crypto investments — that has definitely made our work more complicated — I still argue that behind the scenes, you've got constructive members in both sides of the Capitol and in both political parties working to find consensus,” said Representative French Hill at the Consensus conference in Toronto on May 14.

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