The U.S House finally passed the previously halted crypto bill, the GENIUS Act. The bill passed with a bipartisan 308-122 vote, becoming the first ever major crypto legislation in the U.S. after dealing with the chaotic week, where conservative republicans tanked the bill in a House vote, the bill finally moved up to the Oval Office Chief’s desk.
The drama unfolded when House Freedom Caucus members demanded that the bill be packaged with broader crypto legislation and a ban on central bank digital currencies. After their rebellion brought the floor to a standstill on Tuesday, the holdouts met with Trump at the White House. Trump convinced them to fall in line, though not before Wednesday’s procedural vote was held open for nearly 10 hours as conservatives negotiated to attach the CBDC ban to the defence spending bill instead.
The separation of the GENIUS Act as a standalone bill, regulating the $250 billion stablecoin market, from the controversial CBDC act brokered this deal. By forcing the GENIUS Act to stand alone, Trump and Congress delivered cleaner, more focused legislation that won’t get bogged down in Senate negotiations over broader market structure rules.
Seeing these efforts one has to notice President Trump’s mounting interest in crypto. It’s important to remember that Mr. Trump’s family’s billions of dollars in crypto investments do open an ally for conflict of interest, but how all of this plays out is yet to be seen.
The Freedom Caucus rebellion also exhibits an interesting split in conservative ideology. On one hand, the free-market Republicans support crypto innovation, and on the other hand, the government-sceptical Republicans fear digital surveillance. In this context, the move to tie the CBDC ban to the defence bill was a smart political play. As any bill concerning defence spending always makes its way, the ban is nearly guaranteed to be converted into a law.
For the country’ crypto-markets, it is a significant transition to innovation-friendly rules from enforcement-first regulation. Another important turn is here as well in terms of America’s strict and serious focus on digital currency realizing its significance in the modern world. It tells that America chooses to lead this digital asset industry rather than regulate it into obscurity.
