Nearly a week after failing to pass a vote in the US Senate, the crypto industry-backed stablecoin legislation is reportedly getting a bipartisan push to be revived in the upcoming days.
US Senators Push For Stablecoin Bill Revival
On Tuesday, news outlet Bloomberg reported that US senators are working to “quickly revive” the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which stalled after not receiving enough support from Senate Democrats last week.
The GENIUS Act, sponsored by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, seeks to develop a framework to allow stablecoins to fall under the Federal Reserve Rules, establishing a “safe and pro-growth” regulatory framework to advance innovation.
The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Tim Scott, Cynthia Lummis, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Angela Alsobrooks, failed to pass the cloture vote in the US Senate after several lawmakers withdrew their support ahead of the vote.
As reported by Bitcoinist, only 49 senators voted to advance the bill, falling short of the 60 votes required to end the debate on the legislation. Meanwhile, two Republican senators, Senator Josh Hawley and Senator Rand Paul, voted against advancing the bill alongside Democrats.
Senator Hagerty told Bloomberg that both parties have continued to work on the legislation since the May 8 failure, reportedly expressing hope that Senate Democrats agree to pass the bill before the Memorial Day recess, on May 26, as the Senate will focus on the Republican Party’s signature tax and spending package after the holiday.
“The window is now,” he said, adding, “We will see if reasonableness will prevail.”
GENIUS Act To Regain Bipartisan Support?
It’s worth noting that the GENIUS Act was considered a bipartisan effort to increase regulatory clarity after multiple Democrats showed support, with Senator Alsobrooks and four other Democrats voting for the legislation in the Senate Banking Committee in March.
Amid the bipartisan support, the bill went through various amendments to address Democratic senators’ concerns, including stricter requirements for stablecoin issuers and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) provisions.
However, several Senate Democrats shared further concerns before the May 8 vote. In a May 3 opposition statement, ten senators, including four Democrats who previously supported the bill, questioned the revised version of the legislation, arguing that the draft omitted essential AML and national security safeguards and had ambiguous regulations that could expose crypto markets to exploitation.
Moreover, crypto-skeptic Senator Elizabeth Warren raised concerns about US President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, urging Congress to reject the stablecoin bill, as it could pave the way for alleged “crypto corruption.” This ultimately led to the Senate Democrats’ pivot.
The Bloomberg report noted that Democratic backing is essential in the Senate, as the top Democratic sponsor of the stablecoin legislation, Senator Alsobrooks, concurred that senators have continued working together to move the bill forward.
Coinbase’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brian Armstrong, highlighted a recent statement by Josh Vlasto, spokesperson for Cedar Innovation Fund, an organization linked to the Fairshake Super Political Action Committee (PAC).
The statement, shared with online political news daily Punchbowl News, warned that efforts from both sides were required for the bill to advance. “Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle should avoid political games and pass a final stablecoin bill in the coming days,” Vlasto affirmed, adding that “The crypto community needs clear, responsible rules of the road in the United States, and further delays put American competitiveness and consumers at risk.”
