Latest Senate stablecoin bill addresses foreign issuers, national security safeguards
Since it passed out of the Banking Committee in March, Sen. Bill Hagerty's legislation on issuing stablecoins now specifically has language addressing conflicts of interest and national security protections.
Why it matters: Stablecoin legislation in the Senate has addressed many of the Senate Democrats' most pressing concerns, but still carries one notable exception.
The big picture: The revised version of the GENIUS Act does more to constrain stablecoin issuers to protect consumers, undermine criminal activity and secure the banking system.
"GENIUS now in its current form is more prescriptive. Just in terms of specific requirements," James Rathmell, general counsel of Haun Ventures, tells Axios.
Catch up quick: The original legislation that cleared banking in March (S. 394) was a slimmer bill, one that primarily dealt with issuance.
The majority leader exercised a special rule to let Hagerty bring a new version to the floor, S. 1582. The Senate agreed to a motion to proceed on the bill, by a vote of 69-31.
Zoom in: The details of this legislation have been shifting fast, but these are changes we can see from the published draft:
One large issue has been foreign issued stablecoins, such as the world's largest, tether.
In order for their stablecoins to trade among U.S. users, under the latest version, foreign stablecoin issuers will have their nation's regulatory regime assessed by the Treasury and other banking regulators for comparability with the U.S.
In particular, they will need to have the technological capacity to comply with law enforcement requests, such as seizing and freezing criminal assets (the big stablecoins can do this now), as described in a more detailed anti-money laundering section than that found in the prior version.
Between the lines: The teeth in the new version of GENIUS comes in how it deals with non-compliant stablecoins.
After three years, no U.S.-based cryptocurrency distributors can touch non-compliant stablecoins, and significant penalties for knowing non-compliance are detailed in the current version.
In addition, the new version has other language, including preventing stablecoins from offering yield (Sec. 2), requiring audits, preventing misleading marketing and slightly expanding the list of reserve assets (all in Sec. 4).
Yes, but: The elephant in the room is President Trump's family crypto ventures, which have been a stumbling block for pro-crypto members of Congress.
The revised GENIUS act introduced new language reiterating existing ethics rules that would prevent federal elected officials from issuing stablecoins, but those rules are generally understood to exempt the president — and enforcement has always been the key issue anyway.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
There Are Limits to Republican Lawmakers' Reach, Even in Texas
For weeks, Republicans lawmakers in Texas had promised that they would require proof of citizenship to vote in most elections, hoping the 2025 Legislature would be a vanguard for other conservative states considering similar measures. Voting rights groups cried foul. An analysis showed that the bill could disproportionately harm Republicans, who were less likely than Democrats to have the required documents. Then, as the Texas legislative session ended on Monday, the bill died. Its failure was one of the many surprising results of this year's legislative session, which was among the most conservative in recent memory. The Legislature passed measures requiring the Ten Commandments in every classroom and creating publicly funded vouchers for private-school tuition. But the session also revealed the limits of right-wing governance, even in a state that President Trump won decisively and that is controlled by Republicans at every level of power. Lawmakers failed to pass strict curbs on wind and solar energy, and a tightened ban on abortion pills from out of state. Texas was a particularly good test case for the G.O.P.'s reach because for the first time in years, Republicans in the Legislature were not actively warring. Gone were the internal fights between House and Senate Republicans that had marred the last several sessions, which occur every two years. Instead, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who controls the State Senate with a firm hand, got mostly what he wanted, a more compliant Texas House. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says this ‘grandstander' Republican should be voted out of office
President Donald Trump wants to see voters oust Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY. The 47th president made this wish clear to reporters on Tuesday during a trip to Capitol Hill to coalesce House Republican support for his tax and immigration bill known as the 'big beautiful bill.' During the visit, one reporter asked Trump whether he agreed with Massie, who on X suggested that the bill's passage would result in bigger deficits and 'Biden levels of spending.' 'No, I don't think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he's a grandstander frankly. We don't even talk to him much,' Trump said. 'I think he should be voted out of office. And I just don't think he understands government. If you ask him a couple of questions, he never gives you an answer. He just says, 'I'm a no.' He thinks he's going to get publicity.' The bill Trump wants to see passed features major components of the president's agenda, including the extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, $50 billion to renew construction of Trump's border wall and a committed $150 billion in defense spending to be used for shipbuilding and a missile defense system Trump calls 'The Golden Dome,' according to ABC News. The bill also tightens eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with adults aged 55-64 and children facing additional work requirements to qualify for benefits, ABC News reports. In a Monday post on X, Massie claimed that Trump's 'big beautiful bill' would add $20 trillion of federal debt over 10 years. 'But there's another huge problem: it will increase the price of the $36 trillion of debt we already have, as bond buyers realize we aren't fiscally responsible.' Despite Trump's meeting with Republicans, in which he urged them to stick together and pass the bill, Massie is still a no, according to Politico. Republicans have a majority of 220 seats in the House of Representatives, with 213 Democrats. They can only afford three Republican 'no' votes, assuming all Democrats also vote against the bill. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this week it was 'absolutely essential' for the Republicans to unite and pass the bill, saying, 'there is no time to waste.' Mass. Senate eyes dramatic liquor license overhaul, but long road remains Defense Department accepts Boeing 747 from Qatar for Trump's use 'Now is the time': Harvard calls for donations amid wave of federal cuts Trump set to meet with 'out of control' South African leader at the White House '90s rock legend trashes Trump after president attacks Bruce Springsteen Read the original article on MassLive.
Fox News
34 minutes ago
- Fox News
SCOOP: House GOP circles wagons on Trump tax-and-spend bill as Senate seeks changes
The House GOP is quietly mounting a pressure campaign on the Senate to accept its version of President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" even as lawmakers in the upper chamber signal they'll be making changes. Tensions are simmering between Republicans in the two chambers as they work to pass a massive tax, immigration and energy bill via the budget reconciliation process. The House Budget Committee held a staff-level communications briefing on Monday, two sources told Fox News Digital, the same day the Senate returned from the Memorial Day week recess to begin consideration of the massive bill. Senate Republicans have vowed to tweak the House's offering to varying degrees, with some wanting to tackle even deeper spending cuts and others wanting to soften the blows to Medicaid and green energy subsidies. While lawmakers in the upper chamber are still working out the kinks of their approach, they agree the bill will be different. Both sources interpreted the meeting as a way to get ahead of Senate Republicans' criticism of certain aspects of the bill. Documents viewed by Fox News Digital that were handed to House Republican aides show specific talking points about the bill's taxpayer savings, Medicaid provisions and green energy subsidy rollbacks, among other topics. The document pushed back on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate that the bill would add more than $2 trillion to the deficit over a decade. "The cost of the bill ($4.12 trillion) is surpassed by the savings ($4.29 trillion) associated with mandatory spending reforms ($1.7 trillion) and economic growth ($2.6 trillion)," the document said. It suggested House Republicans assume 2.6% economic growth over 10 years rather than the CBO's unprecedentedly low 1.8%. "House Budget is desperately circling the wagons with staff and members to make sure they do not forget the fight is not over on messaging why their bill is better than their Senate rivals," one House GOP aide told Fox News Digital. "They got jammed with the Senate version in the blueprint round and are using every tool at their disposal to make sure it doesn't happen again." A senior House GOP aide also told Fox News Digital, "The Senate should heed President Trump's wishes to get [the bill] to his desk before July 4th." The House passed its version of the legislation late last month after a marathon all-night session full of debate and Democrat procedural motions to delay. The mammoth bill is aimed at permanently extending Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act while also including new tax relief for senior citizens and eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages. It would also send new funding to the U.S.-Mexico border and to enhance Immigrations and Customs Enforcement while rolling back a significant portion of the green energy subsidies from the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). To save money and cut down on what Republicans see as waste, fraud and abuse of government safety nets, the bill would introduce Medicaid work requirements for certain able-bodied recipients beginning in December 2026. It would penalize states that allowed illegal immigrants into the Affordable Care Act-expanded Medicaid population while rewarding states that did not. Both the IRA subsidies and Medicaid reforms are emerging as pain points for the Senate GOP's three-seat majority. The document obtained by Fox News Digital appears to target specific senators' concerns. For example, one portion of the Q&A specifically said, "No," the bill does not put rural hospitals at risk. "The bill reinvests funds to reopen rural emergency hospitals and ensure cost-effective care access," the messaging guidance said. On the rescinded IRA funds, it said, "The bill targets unused or duplicative funds from programs such as the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants and sustainable jet fuel. These projects aligned more with ideological goals than infrastructure priorities." Another note mentioned the electric vehicle (EV) credit rollback, arguing it would "ensure all vehicles contribute to the Highway Trust Fund." "EVs cause more wear and tear due to their higher weight but pay no fuel taxes. The bill imposes modest user fees starting no later than the end of FY 2026 and terminates in FY 2035, indexed to inflation," it said. But it's not clear that senators with those concerns will heed the House's arguments right now. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters Tuesday, "It's going to hurt rural hospitals in my state." Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged to reporters on Tuesday that while there was discontent over "individual pieces" of the bill, Republicans must agree on something that will pass the chamber. "Failure is not an option. We've got to get to 51, so we'll figure out the path forward to do that over the next couple of weeks," Thune said. Other senators, meanwhile, have argued they want to make deeper cuts than what the House came up with. "The House bill, they're not even scratching the surface. It's not even the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we need to do to return to a reasonable, pre-pandemic-level spending," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said on Fox Business last week. When reached for comment, the House Budget Committee referred Fox News Digital to recent comments by Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas. "Some senators will say we went too far on entitlement reform and health care and welfare, and then you'll have ... [f]olks like [Sens.] Rick Scott, Ron Johnson, who are dear friends of mine, all well-intentioned, will say we don't cut enough spending," Arrington said on Fox News last week. "Well, the fact is, you can only cut as much as you can get the vote to pass it out of your chamber. And we cut almost $1.7 trillion in spending, which is the largest spending cuts in American history by twofold." "There's always room for improvement, and I welcome that, especially on the fiscal reform side, but we've got to get the votes."
