It’s Down to the Wire on Senate Stablecoin Bill

Eleventh-hour maneuvering to get the GENIUS Act through the Senate continued apace Wednesday ahead of a scheduled procedural vote on Thursday to bring the bill to the floor. Republican co-sponsors of the bill met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Tuesday evening and emerged from conclave optimistic that an agreement can be reached and the votes can be found, Axios reported. Republicans were also set to meet with Democratic senators Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Mark Warner (Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) on Wednesday. Gallego and Warner are among the Democrats originally backing the bill who withdrew their support on Monday. Gillibrand is a co-sponsor of the measure.

Senate Majority Leader filed cloture on the bill Tuesday evening, according to Politico, teeing up Thursday’s vote, despite the uncertainty that still surrounds its prospects.

The “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins” bill would create rules for dollar-backed stablecoins allowing federally regulated banks to hold and handle the cryptocurrencies. The measure is supported by the Trump administration.

Although the bill had bipartisan support from the beginning, it ran into trouble this week amid continued Democratic division over the measure, and revelations about Trump and the Trump family’s extensive crypto dealings. A related bipartisan measure in House also derailed this week over those dealings, leaving the immediate prospects of substantive crypto regulation reaching the president’s desk before Congress leaves town for the summer up in the air.

Red more: Bipartisan Consensus On Digital-Asset Legislation Breaks Down Over Trump Family Crypto Dealings

On Tuesday, Senator Jeff Merkey (D-Ore.), an opponent of the GENIUS Act, introduced the “End Crypto Corruption Act,” which would ban the president, vice president, members of Congress and their immediate families from issuing digital assets, such as meme coins and stablecoins. In a “Dear Colleague” letter to lawmakers, Merkley said the bill would “address and curb the corruption that the Trump Administration is potentially engaging in,” according to Axios.

Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand quickly signed on as sponsors of Merkley’s bill, presumably in part to gain leverage in negotiations with Republicans over changes to the GENIUS Act.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the Democrats’ most vocal opponent of the GENIUS Act, is also backing Merkley’s bill. “Democrats who both support and oppose the GENIUS Act agree that greenlighting Donald Trump’s corrupt stablecoin deals is wrong,” Warren said in a statement. “We need to make sure we fix this in the bill, or else the GENIUS Act will simply facilitate Trump’s crypto corruption.”

Thune has signaled he is open to making changes to the bill. He will need Democratic votes, not only to avoid a filibuster but to make up for potential defections in his own party.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has said he is leaning against the bill and has voiced skepticism of the need for crypto regulation at all. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told the Washington Examiner he is uncomfortable with changes to the bill and unhappy with “a lot of deals back and forth.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he’s neither a “firm no,” or a definite “yes” on the measure.