Senate Pushes Stablecoin Bill Forward in Rare Win for Crypto

Just months ago, stablecoin regulation in the U.S. looked stalled. But on Monday night, the Senate voted 66–32 to break a Democratic filibuster, clearing the path for debate on the GENIUS Act, a crypto-backed bill that could soon deliver the industry’s most significant legislative win to date.

Drafted to create guardrails for the rapidly growing $250 billion stablecoin market, the GENIUS Act is the result of heavy lobbying, strategic concessions, and a fractured political climate in which crypto has become both a currency and a culture war.

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The latest version of the bill:

• Limits Big Tech from issuing stablecoins
• Prohibits interest payments that could compete with banks
• Establishes a federal licensing regime for issuers
• Omits any restrictions on former President Donald Trump, despite his family’s $2B token

Those omissions ignited fury from progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who slammed the bill as a “two-for-one” deal for crooks: “a shadowy bank account shielded from oversight and a way to pay off the president personally.” She warned the lack of guardrails could pave the way for systemic risk, criminal exploitation, and taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Regulate or Abdicate: Warner’s Cold Logic

Sen. Mark Warner, a moderate Democrat, acknowledged those concerns—but voted to move the bill forward anyway.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s far better than the status quo. We can’t afford to stand on the sidelines,”

Warner said.

To Warner, the crypto threat isn’t speculative—it’s geopolitical. The U.S. must define the rules of engagement, or risk ceding leadership to less democratic actors. His vote was less an endorsement than a line in the sand: shape the market, or lose control of it.

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From Idealism to Realpolitik

Crypto law advocate John Deaton offered a blunter take. If the GENIUS Act fails, he said, “there will be no meaningful legislation involving crypto before the midterms.” And without it, broader market structure reforms—or consumer protections—are dead on arrival.

The bill, he admits, is no gift to retail: interest-bearing stablecoin accounts were blocked by banking lobbies. “The Bank Lobby is real.” But GENIUS, flawed as it is, may be the last window before regulation falls victim to election cycles and inertia.

Crypto Gets a Win—But Can It Hold the Line?

For crypto, the GENIUS Act isn’t just a stablecoin bill—it’s a test of political will, institutional compromise, and how much dysfunction the industry is willing to tolerate in pursuit of legitimacy. Whether this momentum holds depends not on ideals, but on votes.