Trump Signs Groundbreaking Stubcoin Law
President Donald Trump signed a new law on Friday aimed at establishing federal regulations for digital currencies, particularly focusing on stablecoins, which are intended to offer price stability by being linked to stable assets like gold or the US dollar.
Before the bill was signed, Trump reminded everyone of his promise to make the US the “crypto capital of the globe,” a commitment he made during a keynote address at a Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, back in July 2024. “We have pledged to regain America’s freedom and leadership and make the United States the world’s crypto capital,” he stated. “And that’s what we did. And under the Trump administration, this is going even further.”
Stablecoins are a category of digital currency designed to maintain steady prices. Trump described the new law, dubbed the Genius Act, as potentially revolutionary. He asserted, “As we promised last year, genius will create a clear, simple regulatory framework to establish and unleash the immeasurable promise of dollar-backed stubcoin. This could possibly be the biggest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the Internet itself.”
The Genius Act requires issuers with market caps over $50 billion to provide monthly public disclosures regarding reserve competition, as well as annual audited financial statements, according to the Senate Banking Committee.
The House of Representatives passed the Genius Act on Thursday with a vote of 308 to 122. The Senate had cleared it earlier in June with a 68-30 margin.
Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota, expressed frustration with the previous lack of clear regulations, citing vague rules and enforcement confusion under the Biden administration. “But President Trump and this Congress are revising the course by unlocking the possibilities of American digital assets with historic and transformative laws,” he noted.
Despite some bipartisan support, not all members of the Presidential Party voted in favor of the law. Twelve Republicans opposed the measure, drawing criticism from people like Rep. Maxine Waters who raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, especially since Trump has promoted a digital currency called $Trump.
Waters expressed her worries, saying, “By passing this bill, Congress will tell the world that it’s okay for corruption, foreign companies to buy influence, and criminals to buy Trump coins to seek pardon and beneficial treatment.”
Additionally, on the same day, the House passed two related measures: the Clarity Act of the Digital Asset Market, which aims to establish further regulations for digital assets, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance National Act, designed to prevent the Federal Reserve from implementing a Central Bank Digital Currency.
