US House poised to send stablecoin bill to Trump after 'crypto week' drama
House lawmakers in Washington were due to convene on Thursday afternoon to consider passing the stablecoin bill and another that would develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies more broadly.
The stablecoin measure, which has already been agreed to in the Senate, is expected to pass and move on to be signed by President Donald Trump as soon as Friday.
That would be a major victory for the digital assets industry, marking the first major crypto law enacted in the United States and paving the way for greater integration of crypto into traditional financial markets.
Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds.
They have gained much momentum in recent years, offering faster and cheaper transaction costs than moving money through a bank. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years, and proponents say they could be used to send payments instantly.
The week's negotiations to consider the legislation - dubbed "crypto week" by Republican lawmakers - ran into unexpected hurdles after some conservative hold-outs voted against considering the measures. Trump huddled with skeptics at the White House on Tuesday to try to save the initiative. Even after Trump announced an agreement, it still took about nine hours for the bills to clear key procedural hurdles late on Wednesday as private talks continued.
In negotiations that went late into Wednesday evening, lawmakers decided to include language to prohibit the United States from issuing a central bank digital currency in an unrelated defense spending bill as a compromise to conservatives who strongly supported the ban.
The anti-central bank currency bill had become a sticking point for conservative Republicans.
While central banks in some nations have explored issuing their own digital currencies, the topic has been met with quick resistance in the United States from conservative Republicans, who argue it could allow the government to monitor Americans' spending.
The Fed has studied the issue, but Chairman Jerome Powell has said that the central bank would never pursue one absent explicit approval from Congress.
House lawmakers have said they are aiming to vote on all three crypto measures later in the day.
When asked if he expects the crypto bills to pass on Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters: "I do."
(Reporting by Chris Prentice and David Morgan; Editing by Pete Schroeder and Mark Porter)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
an hour ago
- Al Etihad
Trump signs stablecoin law as crypto industry aims for mainstream adoption
18 July 2025 23:44 (Reuters)US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a law to create a regulatory regime for US-dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, a milestone that could pave the way for the digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, passed by 308 to 122, receiving support from nearly half the Democratic members and most Republicans. The law is a huge win for crypto supporters, who have long lobbied for such a regulatory framework in a bid to gain greater legitimacy for an industry that began in 2009 as a digital Wild West famed for its innovation and speculative chaos."This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and pioneering spirit," said Trump at a signing event that included several crypto are designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 US dollar peg, and their use has exploded, notably by crypto traders moving funds between tokens. The industry hopes they will enter mainstream use for sending and receiving payments new law requires stablecoins to be backed by liquid assets - such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bills - and for issuers to disclose publicly the composition of their reserves companies and executives have argued such legislation will enhance stablecoins' credibility and make banks, retailers and consumers more willing to using them to transfer funds stablecoin market, which crypto data provider CoinGecko said is valued at more than $260 billion, could grow to $2 trillion by 2028 under the new law, Standard Chartered bank estimated earlier this law's passage culminates a long lobbying effort by the industry, which donated more than $245 million in last year's elections to aid pro-crypto candidates including Trump, according to Federal Election Commission Republican president, who has since launched his own coin, in turn aligned himself with the industry and told a crypto conference during his presidential campaign that he would make the US "the crypto capital of the planet."But Democrats and critics have said the law should have blocked big tech companies from issuing their own stablecoins, which could increase the clout of an already powerful sector, contained stronger anti-money laundering protections and prohibited foreign stablecoin issuers. COULD BOOST DEMAND FOR T-BILLS Big US banks are internally debating an expansion into cryptocurrencies as regulators give stronger backing to digital assets, but banks' initial steps will be cautious, centering on pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, Reuters reported in several crypto firms including Circle and Ripple are seeking banking licenses. This would enable the companies to settle payments faster and cut costs by bypassing intermediary banks, as well as enhancing their of the bill have said it could potentially give rise to a new source of demand for short-term US government debt, or T-bills, because stablecoin issuers will have to purchase more T-bills to back their others worry this activity could increase volatility in the Treasury bills market. In an April research note, JPMorgan analysts estimated that stablecoin issuers could become the third-largest buyer of Treasury bills in the coming years. TRUMP CREATES BITCOIN RESERVE Trump has sought to broadly overhaul US cryptocurrency policies, signing an executive order in March establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve. The president has moved personally into digital assets, launching a meme coin called $TRUMP in January and partly owning crypto company World Liberty Financial.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
From fraud and bankruptcy to personal nuclear reactors, the unlikely rebirth of Enron
On what was described as Enron's first earnings call in 25 years, the infamous energy company's chief executive acknowledged the accounting scandal that collapsed the company in 2001. Connor Gaydos, the new leader of Enron – the American company that was rocked by the discovery of widespread fraud, leading it to file for bankruptcy – was flanked by the company's famed tilted E logo as he reflected stoically on the past. "This company has a legendary history and some of it is good and some of it is bad," he said in a Zoom call attended by hundreds. "That's fine, Enron's name has always carried weight, and we don't run from that – we embrace it." Some view it as parody, others as performance art. Whatever it is, Mr Gaydos now owns the Texas-based company that had about 20,000 employees and more than $47 billion in assets before it collapsed. The company primarily focused on electricity and natural gas, as well as trading in energy and physical commodities. It also offered financial and risk management services to other businesses. An archived version of Enron's website claimed more than $100 billion in revenue as of 2000. But whistle-blowers revealed rampant fraud, much of it in the form of egregious accounting methods, which destroyed the company and brought an end to a boom rooted in economic and energy deregulation starting in the mid 1990s. As a result of the crisis, Enron's former chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling, served more than a decade in prison. The company's founder and former chairman, Kenneth Lay, probably would have been jailed had he not died before his sentencing. The company's former chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, also served a prison sentence. Enron was at the heart of one of the biggest US corporate scandals of all time. It now serves as a cautionary tale for companies, investors and consumers. "Enron was always something that I had thought about since I was a child," Mr Gaydos told The National, days after Enron's earnings call. The 29-year-old, originally from Arkansas, reflected on the tainted company's happier and more prosperous days, describing it as the "OpenAI or Nvidia of the mid 1990s". He explained that his decision to restart the notorious company stemmed from viewing a documentary about its fall from grace. He looked up the Enron logo in the US trademark database and noticed that ownership of the symbol – by graphic designer Paul Rand, who also created the logos for IBM, Westinghouse, UPS and ABC – had expired. Mr Gaydos hired a lawyer who helped with the trademark acquisition paperwork. For a few hundred dollars, including legal fees, he became the owner of the Enron brand. "It cost me what I think the price of cup of coffee will cost in a few years," he joked, referring to inflation. In late 2024, Enron announced its comeback through accounts on Instagram, X and TikTok – which did not exist when the company went under in 2001. Now, Enron has about 500,000 followers on those social platforms. "We're here to lead by are Enron," a promotional video for the company said. Since that video came out, Mr Gaydos has done several interviews and the company has heavily promoted a fanciful product it calls the Enron Egg, which it describes as a personal nuclear reactor"made to power your home for up to 10 years". Several people purporting to be board members and high-level staff members took part in the recent earnings call. "I've got 60 people on the payroll right now," Mr Gaydos said. The company also recently promoted a 2025 summer internship programme and a commitment to corporate diversity. Although it is his first time leading a prominent brand, it is not the first time Mr Gaydos has been in the spotlight. He is one of the creators of Birds Aren't Real, the viral, performance art conspiracy theory designed as a critique of the abundance of misinformation pumped out on social media. Mr Gaydos said the main thrust of the project was to show how the internet had been used as a tool to divide people. With the Enron endeavour, however, he wants to do something different. 'I want to unite people using the toolbox that we used with Birds Aren't Real, but do it in a way that can hopefully shine a light on some of the areas that deserve to be exposed with the energy business,' he explained. Mr Gaydos said in the two decades since Enron's financial implosion, energy business consolidation, government subsidies and policies that lack environmental awareness have run amok. Consumers have suffered while energy profits have soared, he added. He said his version of Enron was in the process seeking approval to become a retail energy provider. The Enron brand owner said that, in Texas, 10 'legacy monopoly companies' supply energy to about 60 per cent of the population. Mr Gaydos accused those companies of vague pricing and outsourcing customer service to artificial intelligence. Without going into specifics, Mr Gaydos said Enron wanted to present Texas residents with a straightforward and economical path to provide energy to their homes or businesses. 'The energy monopoly in this country has got so out of hand,' he said, before changing to a more optimistic tone, adding that his goal is to bring back Enron and create a new company that will revolutionise energy. 'If there's a few jokes along the way, and if some people laugh along the way, so be it." Speaking with Mr Gaydos, it is sometimes difficult to tell what is real and what is parody. One of the project's staff members who co-ordinated the interview insisted the push to become a retail energy provider was real. "Stay tuned," they said. "Enron has a lot of interesting stuff coming down the pike."
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Epstein saga deepens after revelation of birthday letter allegedly from Trump
Controversy surrounding Donald Trump 's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files has deepened, after the publication of a story about an alleged letter the US President wrote to the disgraced financier. The Wall Street Journal late on Thursday published a bombshell article on the letter Mr Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein – who died in jail awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges – featuring a sketch of a nude woman and other sexually suggestive content. The letter was part of an album of letters from friends the WSJ said had been collected for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. The album was reportedly created by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's long-time girlfriend who was jailed for sex trafficking in 2022. The WSJ said the letter bore Mr Trump's signature and ends with: 'Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.' The outlet did not publish a photo of the letter. Mr Trump swiftly took to Truth Social and promised to sue the WSJ, calling the story 'false, malicious, and defamatory'. He also said he would take legal action against WSJ owner Rupert Murdoch and publisher News Corp. 'It's a made up story. Not my words, not my form of speaking. Also, I don't draw pictures,' he said. He also suggested that the WSJ was 'warned directly' by him that the letter was 'fake' but published it anyway. The alleged letter is the latest chapter of a scandal that has been increasingly difficult for the Trump administration to move past. Epstein was arrested in 2019 on charges of solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a child for prostitution. Witnesses and victims had previously revealed a pattern of abuse of minors – partially enabled by Maxwell – and said that powerful men had been involved in the abuse. The disgraced financier died in prison awaiting trial in 2019. Officials ruled his death as a suicide, but it fuelled conspiracy theories, particularly in the Make America Great Again movement, that Epstein was murdered to conceal his wealthy and powerful friends implicated in his crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi had months ago pledged to release the now infamous Epstein 'client list' and 'a lot of flight logs'. But last week, a Justice Department memo concluded that after an 'exhaustive review' of materials related to Epstein, there was no secret client list and his death was indeed a suicide. Mr Trump – whose administration includes officials who, as private citizens, helped to spread these conspiracy theories – lashed out at his own base, calling them 'weaklings' and 'stupid people' for continuing to question the narrative on Epstein. In a rare rupture, his Maga supporters have turned on him, demanding the release of all the files. The President directed Ms Bondi on Friday to unseal Epstein's grand jury transcripts. Elon Musk, the billionaire former ally of Mr Trump, questioned the authenticity of the letter, saying it 'didn't really sound like something Trump would say tbh.' But he also called for the full release of the Epstein material and joined some Maga loyalists in portraying the Trump administration as conspiring in a cover-up. 'Wow I can't believe Epstein killed himself before realising it was all a hoax,' Mr Musk, who had a public rift with Mr Trump after he left the administration in May and soon after accused the President of being named in the files, said on X.
