Stablecoins bill faces hurdle after Democrats withdraw support [View all]
Source: Roll Call
Posted May 5, 2025 at 7:32pm
Senate Democratic defections from a bipartisan stablecoins bill could become a procedural hurdle as Republicans try to bring the measure to the floor, possibly as early as this week. Four Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee who voted on March 13 to approve legislation that would facilitate issuance of stablecoins — digital currencies pegged to a reserve asset, in this case, the U.S. dollar — said over the weekend they wouldn’t vote for a revised bill released on May 1. They joined five other Democrats in a statement saying the revisions hadn’t gone far enough.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., the lead sponsor of the bill, called the Democrats’ change of heart a political stunt. Supporters of the bill, along with a similar measure approved April 2 by the House Financial Services Committee, say it provides something the cryptocurrency industry has long sought: Clear rules for issuing and regulating stablecoins. The legislation would require stablecoin issuers to maintain liquid reserves comprised of safe investments such as U.S. Treasury debt, insured deposits and overnight Treasury repurchase agreements. Depending on the nature of the issuer, the regulator could be a federal or state supervisory agency.
Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., began the process last week of getting the bill to the Senate floor. But the Democrats who objected over the weekend said the current version “still has numerous issues that must be addressed,” including on “stronger” anti-money laundering provisions, foreign stablecoin issuers, national security concerns and enforcement.
“While we are eager to continue working with our colleagues to address these issues, we would be unable to vote for cloture should the current version of the bill come to the floor,” the May 3 statement said. Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., the ranking member of the Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee, along with Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Andy Kim, D-N.J.; and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., all of whom voted for the initial bill in committee, joined the statement.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/05/05/stablecoins-bill-faces-hurdle-after-democrats-withdraw-support/
Link to Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee Democrats' STATEMENT - Gallego, Colleagues Issue Statement on GENIUS Act
Link to Senator Warren PRESS RELEASE/FLOOR SPEECH TRANSCRIPT - On Senate Floor, Warren Outlines Critical Fixes Needed for Democrats to Support GENIUS Act; Outlines Concerns on Trump’s Stablecoin Corruption
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