The US Senate Banking Committee is set to vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoin (GENIUS) Act on March 13, following key updates made after consultations with Democratic lawmakers.
The Republican-led bill, originally introduced in February by Senator Bill Hagerty, aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the US.
Hagerty, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, announced on March 10 that the latest version incorporates bipartisan input and strengthens provisions related to consumer protections, authorized stablecoin issuers, risk mitigation, state-level pathways, insolvency measures, and transparency.
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Bipartisan Support Grows for Revised Stablecoin Bill Ahead of Senate Vote
The revised bill is backed by Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Tim Scott, as well as Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Angela Alsobrooks.
The bill seeks to bring U.S. dollar stablecoin issuers with market capitalizations exceeding $10 billion—currently Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC)—under Federal Reserve oversight. Smaller issuers would have the option to comply with state-level regulations instead.
The updated provisions in the GENIUS Act could create a competitive edge for U.S.-based stablecoin issuers over foreign competitors.
According to Dom Kwok, co-founder of Web3 learning app EasyA, the bill imposes stricter standards on non-U.S. stablecoin issuers in areas such as reserve and liquidity requirements, money laundering prevention, and sanctions compliance.
“Most foreign issuers will find these standards hard to meet,” Kwok stated in an X post, adding that the bill could provide an upper hand to Circle’s USDC and Ripple Labs’ Ripple USD (RLUSD).
https://twitter.com/dom_kwok/status/1899263834558468383
Legal expert Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan, echoed this sentiment, arguing that the anti-money laundering and reserve requirements in the bill appear to favor U.S.-based stablecoin issuers.
The GENIUS Act still faces several hurdles before becoming law. If the Senate Banking Committee approves it, the bill will proceed to a full Senate vote, where it could be debated further.
If it passes the Senate, it will move to the House of Representatives. Should the House approve the bill without changes, it would then be sent to President Donald Trump for either signing into law or vetoing.
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MiCA’s Stablecoin Regime Comes In Effect
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework related to stablecoins took effect in June last year.
Under the new rules, companies must stop issuing non-euro-denominated stablecoins used as a “means of exchange” if they cross a threshold of more than 1 million transactions or a value of over 200 million euros (US$215.2 million) per day.
Furthermore, stablecoin issuer Circle recently said that it’s now registered as an electronic money institution, or EMI, in France. This grants the firm a key license to become a compliant stablecoin issuer under the EU’s new crypto laws.
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Key Takeaways
- The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will vote on the updated GENIUS Act on March 13, following bipartisan revisions.
- The bill places U.S. stablecoin issuers with over $10 billion in market cap under Federal Reserve oversight.
- If passed by the Senate and House, the bill will head to President Trump for approval or veto.
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