Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY—President Trump signs stablecoins GENIUS Act into law, (Jul 18, 2025)

By Joe Cox, J.D.

The GENIUS Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on July 18, establishes an initial regulatory framework for stablecoins.

On July 17, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a pair of significant financial bills, drawing a cornucopia of reactions from Congress members and impacted trade and advocacy groups. The bills in question were the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. The GENIUS Act was then signed into law on Friday July 18 by President Donald Trump. Unsurprisingly given the current political climate, reaction to both bills was fairly heated.

GENIUS Act. The GENIUS Act purports to establish an initial regulatory framework for stablecoins, with aims of protecting consumers and strengthening national security. It was co-sponsored in the Senate by Republicans Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Bill Haggerty (R-Tenn.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) as well as Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). Senator Scott termed the bill’s passage “a major milestone” and stated that he looks “forward to taking a similar approach to get digital asset market structure legislation signed into law.”

Paul Atkins, Chairman of the Securities and Enforcement Commission, also endorsed the bill as “a historic milestone for crypto entrepreneurs, financial market participants, and everyday Americans.” Atkins continued, “Blockchain and crypto asset technologies have the potential to revolutionize America’s financial infrastructure and deliver new efficiencies, cost reductions, transparency, and risk mitigation for the benefit of all Americans.”

House Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) praised the bill as “a historic turning point” in work to bring clarity to payment stablecoins. Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) touted the bill as legislation that “strikes the right balance by fostering innovation while putting clear guardrails in place.” Congressman Mike Haridopolos likewise approved of the bill as a step toward “building a system where blockchain can thrive [and] stablecoins can help lower costs for consumers and businesses.”

Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) noted that the GENIUS Act “[isn’t] perfect, but delivers critical consumer protections, while ensuring that American entrepreneurs can continue to lead in the cryptocurrency space.” Likewise Democrat Jim Himes (D-Conn.) termed the GENIUS Act “far from a perfect bill, but it is an important step towards protecting consumers and bolstering our national security.”

Despite a 308-122 vote for passage, plenty of voices dissented from the praise of the legislation. House member Maxine Waters (D-Fla.) termed the GENIUS Act a “a woefully deficient Federal framework” and charged that stablecoin legislation has been complicated by “the Trump Family’s brazen corruption using crypto to sell access in exchange for official acts.” Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.) likewise derided the GENIUS Act and another bill are “RINOs—Regulation in Name Only” and stated the bill to be “nothing more than a license for corruption and a gift to Donald Trump and his crypto cronies.”

Industry reaction. Reaction among industry groups was also mixed. The American Bankers Association praised the Act as “thoughtful payment stablecoin legislation.” The Independent Community Bankers of America likewise touted the bill as “includ[ing] important provisions to protect against the negative economic consequences to local communities that would result from potential community bank disintermediation.”

But other voices expressed negative feedback. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors noted concern “with the dramatic and unsupported expansion of the authority of uninsured banks to conduct money transmission or custody activities nationwide without the approval or oversight of host state supervisors.” Better Markets COO Amanda Fischer charged, “The GENIUS Act increases our financial system’s susceptibility to runs, bankruptcies, and taxpayer-funded bailouts, all while leaving consumers unprotected from abuses from crypto companies and Big Tech.” Americans for Financial Reform stated, “The gusher of campaign cash from the crypto industry is buying rubber stamped crypto policies that boost the industry’s bottom line while exposing consumers, investors, and the financial system to serious financial harm.” Bartlett Naylor of Public Citizen alleged that “Congress surrendered to the onslaught of crypto political spending and legitimized the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme.”

Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Passing in a much closer vote was the Anti-CBDC Act. Proponents of the Act note that it prevents the federal government from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency that could track Americans’ private transactions. The legislation springs from House majority whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who cited the Act as “ensur[ing] that the United States’ digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people so that any future development of digital cash reflects our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness.”

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) praised the recent bills as “answering President Trump’s call to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.” Congressman Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) noted the bill as fighting back against “regulatory overreach into everyday American’s lives.” Meuser continued, “That’s why even though the Constitution is clear, this bill restrains the Fed from even considering a central bank digital currency and reinforces constitutional authority over currency within the hands of the people’s representatives.”

But again, opposing voices emerged. Representative Waters, for instance, criticized the bill as overboard, arguing that it “blocks research into other forms of digitizing the dollar that could truly cut costs for people.” Waters charged that the bill would make the United States the only nation in the world to block research into CBDCs. “What are you afraid of?” she asked her colleagues on the House floor.

Companies: American Bankers Association; Americans for Financial Reform; Better Markets; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Consumer Reports; Demand Progress; Independent Community Bankers of America; Public Citizen

LegislativeActivity: ExchangesMarketRegulation