GENIUS Act – Trump urges U.S. House to fast-track ‘incredible’ bill
Mastercard and Visa stocks dumped after passage of the Senate's stablecoin bill.
- Trump urged the House to fast-track the stablecoin bill.
- Circle’s share price jumped after the GENIUS Act passage, while Visa and Mastercard stocks dumped.
President Donald Trump has called on the House of Representatives to fast-track the stablecoin bill, the GENIUS Act.
In a post initially shared on his Truth Social, Trump hailed the Senate GENIUS Act as an ‘incredible bill’ and added,
“We are going to show the world how to win with digital assets like never before.”
Focus turns to the House
The stablecoin bill garnered bipartisan support during its final passage in the Senate on the 17th of June.
The next stage will be consideration by the House, which also has a similar bill, the STABLE (Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for Better Ledger Economy) Act.
According to the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, the key issues at the House will be,
“The structure of federal oversight, coordination with state regulators, and the regulatory treatment of algorithmic stablecoins.”
For perspective, the GENIUS Act only focuses on ‘payment stablecoins’ backed one for one by U.S. treasury bonds and other cash equivalents.
That said, the urgency for House approval on the bill was also echoed by Blockchain Association, an umbrella voice for crypto industry advocacy.
“Now, the issue moves to the House, where we urge Members to act swiftly in determining the path forward for this important legislation.”
Industry leaders welcomed Trump’s stance on moving the legislation faster. This was a stark difference and relief from Biden-era enforcement action in the sector.
Reacting to the president’s clarion call, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said,
“2025 is different”
For his part, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed claims of crypto being a threat to the dollar and slammed governments for ignoring the sector for far too long. He added,
“This administration is committed to establishing the United States as a hub for digital asset innovation, and the GENIUS Act moves us one step closer to that goal.”
Stablecoins or digital dollars offer near-instant, cheaper and flexible payments that rival slow and expensive traditional offerings by Visa and Mastercard.
In fact, the GENIUS Act passage showed the market was ready for the potential disruption of digital dollars.
Visa and Mastercard shares dropped about 5% while Coinbase’s COIN and stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) shares jumped 16% and 34% respectively.
But some cautioned that the TradFi players shouldn’t be overlooked because they will probably unveil similar offerings.
