If implemented, the bill will establish for the first time in history a regulatory regime for stablecoins, a fast-rising financial product.
The United States Senate, one of the houses of the US Congress, has passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for US-dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins, in a historic moment for the digital asset industry.
The bill, dubbed as the GENIUS Act, received the two-party support with several Democrats joining Republicans to back the proposed federal rules. It passed in the house with a 68-30 count. The House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans, needs to pass its version of the bill before it heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for approval.
Stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency has been designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg. This digital currency is commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years, and advocates say that they could be used to send payments instantly.
If signed into law, the stablecoin bill would require tokens to be backed by liquid assets – such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bills. In addition, the issuers will have to publicly disclose the composition of their reserves on a periodic monthly basis. As a major milestone, this bill if gets implemented will for the first time a regulatory regime for stablecoins, which has become synonymous as a rapidly developing financial product. The crypto industry has long pushed for lawmakers to pass legislation creating rules for digital assets, arguing that a clear framework could enable stablecoins to become more widely used.
The US House of Representatives has passed a stablecoin bill last year but it died after the Senate which Democrats held the majority at the time, did not take it up. Bo Hines, who leads Trump’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has opined that White House is quite fixated to have the stablecoin bill passed before August 2025.
What is a Stablecoin?
It can be termed as any cryptocurrency designed to have a relatively stable price, typically through being pegged to a commodity or currency or having its supply regulated by an algorithm. Stablecoin involves the value of a digital asset being pegged to a reference asset, such as flat currency or gold in order to maintain a relatively stable price. You can think of it as a digital dollar, or a digital gold, that’s less volatile than other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Helene Elliott is the senior reporter for News Raise. She covers Science news. She also has a keen interest in photojournalism. Helene holds a nomination for the prestigious Red Smith Award. She is married to author Dennis D’Agostino, a former publicist with the New York Mets.
