The Senate voted Monday to advance landmark cryptocurrency legislation, with 16 Democrats siding with most Republicans on a key procedural motion that could set the stage for the upper chamber to pass its first-ever crypto regulatory overhaul.
The Senate voted 66-32 to proceed on the bill following a series of bipartisan negotiations in which Republicans agreed to an array of changes to win over enough Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold required to advance the measure.
The vote is a major win for the crypto industry, which has lobbied Congress for years to pass legislation that would help legitimize digital assets. The bill, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), would create the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for digital tokens known as stablecoins that are pegged to the value of the dollar.
It comes less than two weeks after Senate Democrats rejected the stablecoin bill on the floor the last time it went up for a procedural vote after a series of last-minute bipartisan talks failed to yield a tangible deal in time and Democrats objected to the language that Republicans had teed up to pass. Negotiators returned to the table this week and agreed to a tentative new draft bill that was circulated over the weekend and is expected to be adopted as an amendment ahead of a vote on final passage.
The procedural motion drew support from 16 Democrats: Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Mark Warner of Virginia, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Adam Schiff of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Alex Padilla of California, and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
Two Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jerry Moran of Kansas — voted against the motion.
“This cloture vote represents a major milestone in our bipartisan effort to regulate stablecoins,” Gillibrand, the lead Democratic co-sponsor said in a statement. “I’m confident that we have produced a strong regulatory framework that will position our country for the future, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.”
One Democrat who voted for the bill when it cleared the Senate Banking Committee in March, Sen. Andy Kim, voted “no” on Monday. The New Jersey lawmaker was seen on the floor just prior to the stablecoin vote reviewing written materials in a binder with Gillibrand, Hagerty and aides involved in drafting the bill.
Despite the changes won by Democrats in negotiations, the crypto bill is divisive on the left. Most Democrats opposed the legislation, with some citing concerns about the Trump family’s crypto ventures. The party’s leader on the Senate Banking Committee, Elizabeth Warren, sought to rally the opposition, saying on the floor ahead of the vote that the bill’s “basic flaws remain unaddressed” by the recent changes. The Massachusetts Democrat was seen having a heated conversation with Gillibrand on the Senate floor during the vote on the stablecoin bill while other senators were surrounding the two.
“A bill that turbocharges the stablecoin market, while facilitating the President’s corruption and undermining national security, financial stability, and consumer protection is worse than no bill at all,” Warren said in her floor speech.
Other Democrats said the legislation is necessary to provide certainty to stablecoin issuers, despite concerns about the Trump family businesses.
“Many senators, myself included, have very real concerns about the Trump family’s use of crypto technologies to evade oversight, hide shady financial dealings, and personally profit at the expense of everyday Americans,” Warner — who helped lead negotiations for Democrats alongside Gillibrand, Alsobrooks and Gallego — said in a statement prior to the vote. “But we cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay.”
Monday’s vote clears the way for Senate GOP leaders to put the legislation up for final passage, but that vote may not occur until after Congress’ Memorial Day recess. Beyond that, the bill still has a long way to go before it reaches President Donald Trump’s desk. If the Senate passes the legislation, it will go to the GOP-controlled House, where it will need to be reconciled with a separate but similar stablecoin measure that cleared the House Financial Services Committee last month.
Katherine Hapgood and Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report.
