A PYMNTS Company

Crypto’s Big Week: House Votes Could Reshape Digital Asset Oversight

By  |  July 15, 2025

The cryptocurrency industry is poised for a significant legislative milestone this week as the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote on two key bills that could define the regulatory framework for digital assets. According to Bloomberg, these measures — the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act and the more expansive CLARITY Act — represent the culmination of years of lobbying from crypto stakeholders eager for legal clarity.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The GENIUS Act, which centers on regulating stablecoins, already cleared the Senate with bipartisan backing and is scheduled for a House vote on Thursday. Per Bloomberg, if it passes, it would become the first standalone crypto-specific legislation to reach President Donald Trump’s desk and be signed into law.

    However, it’s the broader CLARITY Act that has captured the industry’s deeper interest. Designed to establish when a digital asset should be treated as a security versus a commodity, the bill seeks to define the regulatory boundaries between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The House is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, where it is anticipated to pass due to bipartisan committee support, but its fate in the Senate remains less certain.

    As Bloomberg reports, Senate Democrats may pose resistance, partly because of growing ethical concerns surrounding President Trump’s personal involvement in crypto ventures. His family has ties to a number of digital assets and decentralized finance projects, including the meme coins $TRUMP and $MELANIA and a stablecoin issued by a firm called World Liberty Financial.

    We’d love to be your preferred source for news.

    Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!

    Add as Preferred Source

    Related: US House Sets ‘Crypto Week’ to Debate Landmark Digital Asset Regulations

    Critics argue that these ties could cloud legislative judgment. “President Trump’s crypto corruption distorts the digital asset marketplace,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said, after backing the GENIUS Act but voicing concerns about the broader CLARITY legislation.

    Despite these political headwinds, the crypto industry is actively pushing for passage. Coinbase, one of the sector’s largest platforms, launched a promotional campaign on Capitol Hill that included distributing 5,000 branded chocolate bars to lawmakers. The wrappers highlighted polling data suggesting that roughly 20% of Americans currently own some form of cryptocurrency — a statistic they hope sways undecided legislators, according to Bloomberg.

    Other major players, including Ripple, are also engaged in lobbying efforts aimed at easing regulatory uncertainty, which they argue has stifled investment and innovation. In anticipation of House movement, Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is collaborating with Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and others to draft a Senate version of the market structure bill. While details remain scarce, that bill is expected to diverge slightly from the House version.

    Democrats like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are also preparing to work across the aisle. “We have a lot of work to do, and we’re going to work on a bipartisan basis over the next month,” she told CNBC.

    In addition to the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, the House will vote Wednesday on a separate measure aimed at preventing the Federal Reserve from launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC), another issue that has divided lawmakers and raised privacy and financial control concerns among some in the crypto community.

    Source: Bloomberg