US Senate moves forward with GENIUS stablecoin bill

Update (May 20, 3:17 am UTC): This article has been updated to add statements from senators and information on the GENIUS Act.

The US Senate has voted to advance a key stablecoin-regulating bill after Democratic senators blocked an earlier attempt to move the bill forward over concerns about President Donald Trump’s sprawling crypto empire.

A key procedural vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed in a 66-32 vote on May 19 local time.

Several Democrats, including Mark Warner, Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego, changed their votes to pass the motion to invoke cloture, which will now set the bill up for debate on the Senate floor.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s key backers, said on May 15 that she thinks it’s a “fair target” to have the GENIUS Act passed by May 26 — Memorial Day in the US.

Several Democratic senators withdrew support for the bill on May 8, blocking a motion to move it forward, citing concerns over potential conflicts of interest involving Trump’s crypto ventures and the bill’s Anti-Money Laundering provisions.

Warner expressed concerns about Trump’s crypto ventures in a statement before the vote, but said the US couldn’t “afford to keep standing on the sidelines” while the crypto industry evolves.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime crypto skeptic, was one of the strongest opponents of the stablecoin bill, arguing before the vote that it failed to address Trump’s “blatant crypto corruption.”

Trump and his family have recently launched various crypto projects, which include memecoins, a crypto platform, a crypto mining company that plans to go public and a stablecoin that has quickly grown to be the seventh-largest by value, CoinGecko data shows.

”Trump and his family have already pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars from his crypto ventures, and they stand to make hundreds of millions more from his stablecoin, USD1, if this bill passes,” she said.

Senator Bill Hagerty introduced the GENIUS Act on Feb. 4, which seeks to regulate the nearly $250 billion stablecoin market, currently dominated by Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC).

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The bill requires stablecoins to be fully backed, have regular security audits and approval from federal or state regulators. Only licensed entities can issue stablecoins, while algorithmic stablecoins are restricted.

Hagerty’s stablecoin bill builds on the discussion draft he submitted for former Representative Patrick McHenry’s Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act in October.

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