The U.S. Congress has passed a bill that first legalizes a regulatory framework for stablecoins. This has led to the assessment that the United States has taken a step further toward the institutionalization of the cryptocurrency industry, leaving only the signature of President Donald Trump.
On the 17th (local time), the U.S. House of Representatives held a plenary session and passed the 'Genius Act' with 308 votes in favor and 122 votes against. Since this bill has already passed the Senate, the legislative process will be completed once it receives the president's signature.
The Genius Act defines 'stablecoins' that can be exchanged 1:1 with legal currencies such as the U.S. dollar, as well as stipulating issuance requirements and disclosure obligations, aimed at enhancing the transparency and credibility of cryptocurrencies.
The bill mandates that stablecoin issuers must comply with anti-money laundering laws and sanctions laws, and must hold 100% of highly liquid assets such as U.S. dollars and Government Bonds as collateral.
The cryptocurrency industry has been lobbying for several years to legislate this bill, and according to Reuters, it supported friendly candidates towards cryptocurrencies with approximately $119 million in campaign funding in last year's presidential and congressional elections.
President Trump has stated, 'I will make the United States the cryptocurrency capital of the world,' and it is highly likely he will sign this bill.
However, some Democratic lawmakers pointed out that the bill does not include provisions to prevent President Trump from making personal gains from cryptocurrency ventures during his tenure, casting votes against the bill.
The current bill includes provisions that prohibit lawmakers and their families from profiting from stablecoins, but the president and his family are excluded from this regulation.
According to the Associated Press, the cryptocurrency corporation 'World Liberty Financial (WLF),' owned by the Trump family, has issued its own stablecoin, and it is reported that President Trump earned approximately $57.35 million through the sale of this cryptocurrency alone last year.
On the same day, the House also passed two additional bills related to cryptocurrency.
The 'Digital Asset Market Clarification Act' defines digital assets and clearly distinguishes which agency between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will oversee these assets.
Another bill contains provisions that prohibit the issuance of Central Bank digital currencies (CBDC) by the Federal Reserve (Fed), and these two bills are expected to be discussed in the Senate.