U.S. President Donald Trump could sign the bill, which establishes a payment stablecoin framework, by mid-May.
The U.S. is likely to enact the GENIUS Act into law soon, according to Bo Hines, executive director of President Donald Trump’s digital asset working group.
The GENIUS Act outlines a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins or digital assets tied to the value of the U.S. dollar.
Introduced earlier this year, the bipartisan bill sets compliance and collateralization rules for stablecoin issuers while otherwise allowing the creation and use of the assets. Notably, it establishes a federal regulatory framework but allows issuers of less than $10 billion of stablecoins to follow state frameworks.
At Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit on March 18, Hines said he believes legislation is “imminent” and could reach the President’s desk within two months.
His statement followed a Senate Banking Committee decision on March 13, which advanced the GENIUS Act to the Senate floor with an 18-6 vote in favor.
Hines emphasized that these results are an “extremely bipartisan” outcome. He believes that Democratic lawmakers see a need for U.S. dominance in the sector and are willing to cooperate with Republican lawmakers.
He expects the bill to promote U.S. dollar dominance, improve payment rails, and “[alter] the course of financial markets,” thereby benefiting the country’s economy.
Despite broad bipartisan support, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the GENIUS Act prior to the latest vote and urged for changes.
First, she said, the bill does not provide consumer protections and fails to prohibit individuals convicted of financial crimes from owning stablecoin companies.
Furthermore, it lacks national security protections and would make sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, and child pornography sales easier, she argued.
She added that the bill fails to protect financial stability as it allows stablecoin issuers to invest in risky assets. That could lead to future bailouts, Warren warned.
Finally, the GENIUS Act allows non-banks to issue money, Warren complained, warning that it could allow Elon Musk to issue an X currency, monetize transaction data, censor access to payments, and undercut the U.S. dollar.
On each issue, she said: “We need to fix that. I don’t understand why there would be anyone—Democrat or Republican—who wouldn’t want to do that.”
Warren stressed that addressing these issues would not “end stablecoins” or hinder innovation, nor would solutions be difficult to put in place. It remains to be seen whether her concerns will be addressed as the bill advances.
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