The U.S. Senate passed the "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act," or the GENIUS Act, on June 17, 2025. This landmark bipartisan legislation aims to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the value of an asset like the U.S. dollar. The bill, which passed with significant bipartisan support (68-30), seeks to bring clarity and oversight to the rapidly growing stablecoin market, which industry leaders project could reach $3.7 trillion by the end of the decade.

The GENIUS Act requires stablecoins to be backed by liquid assets such as U.S. dollars and short-term Treasury bills, and it mandates that issuers publicly disclose their reserve composition monthly. It also includes provisions for state regulation, allowing smaller issuers to opt for state oversight under certain conditions. While proponents, including its sponsor Senator Bill Hagerty, hail it as a "historic day" that will modernize payments, critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren raised concerns about potential loopholes that could lead to corruption and inadequate consumer protection, especially given the Trump family's involvement in the crypto space. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/us/politics/senate-cryptocurrency-bill.html