The U.S. Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, better known as the GENIUS Act, by a decisive 68-30 vote on June 17.
This marks the first time the Senate has approved major legislation to regulate digital assets, specifically targeting stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of traditional assets like the U.S. dollar. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where further debate and possible amendments are expected.
The law mandates that stablecoin issuers maintain full reserves, undergo monthly audits, and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules. This is designed to ensure that every stablecoin issued is backed by real assets, reducing the risk of sudden collapses or fraud. The Act opens the door for a variety of entities, including banks, fintech firms, and potentially even large retailers, to issue their own stablecoins, giving consumers more options for digital payments.
Consumers are expected to benefit from clear, public redemption policies, ensuring they can exchange stablecoins for U.S. dollars at predictable rates and with transparent fees.
Critics such as Senator Elizabeth Warren warn that the Act could allow major tech companies and retailers to launch their own private currencies, raising concerns about market dominance, data privacy, and surveillance. However, the bill does bar non-financial Big Tech firms from directly issuing stablecoins, requiring them to partner with regulated financial entities instead.
Advocacy groups like Better Markets argue that stablecoins could still be vulnerable to runs and bankruptcies, potentially putting consumers and even the broader financial system at risk.
“Today’s passage of the GENIUS Act in the Senate puts consumers, investors and the economy at risk. Stablecoins are not the ‘future of payments.’ They instead represent an unstable future with little regard for unsuspecting Main Street Americans and the economic guardrails they depend on.
“The GENIUS Act promotes the use of stablecoins, but it has failed to address the fundamental problems identified by Better Markets over the last few months, such as the susceptibility of stablecoin companies to runs, bankruptcies, and taxpayer-funded bailouts. The Act also encourages the use of stablecoins to buy goods and services, while applying none of the laws that provide consumer protections in payments. Under the proposed law, Big Tech and non-financial companies will likely issue their own currencies, raising concerns with fair competition, data privacy and surveillance. The GENIUS Act and its supporters have also failed to address the myriad national security risks unique to crypto while also providing loopholes to opaque foreign stablecoins like Tether. The House should reject this legislation.”
The bill faced controversy over the involvement of former President Donald Trump and his family in the crypto sector, particularly regarding their connections to stablecoin issuers. Some Democrats pushed for amendments to address these conflicts of interest, but such measures were not included in the final version.
Trump is recognized as the chief advocate and partial owner of World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform established in September 2024 with contributions from his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. Trump and his family own approximately 60% of World Liberty Financial via an LLC, holding 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens, which entitles them to 75% of the revenue from token sales.
Trump disclosed earning over $57 million from token sales on the platform, according to his 2025 financial disclosure report. These earnings are routed through a revocable trust, with Trump as the sole beneficiary and Donald Jr. as trustee.
In April 2025, World Liberty Financial launched “USD1,” a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents. This stablecoin quickly attracted major foreign investment, including a $2 billion purchase by the Emirati firm MGX, which used USD1 to invest in Binance, a leading crypto exchange.
Trump’s crypto holdings now represent a substantial portion of his net worth, with estimates suggesting that crypto ventures have increased his family’s wealth by nearly $2.9 billion in the last six months.
Since Trump’s return to office, the administration has paused or withdrawn several federal investigations into crypto companies, including those involving major investors in World Liberty Financial.
Senate Democrats, led by Elizabeth Warren, attempted to add provisions to the bill to bar the president and his family from profiting from stablecoin products, but these were ultimately not included.
