House Divided Over GENIUS Act Path Forward

The U.S. House of Representatives is currently grappling with the legislative details of the "GENIUS Act," with lawmakers divided on the best approach to advance the bill. The Senate-passed legislation was transferred to the House on Monday, but there is ongoing debate about whether to proceed with it as a standalone measure or to bundle it with the House's "Market Structure Act" and resubmit it to the Senate for revision.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has indicated that the "GENIUS Act" is likely to pass the House, but only if it advances concurrently with the "CLARITY Act," the House's market structure legislation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has also expressed support for merging the two bills, stating that this approach aligns with industry demands.

The debate centers around two main factions: the "packaging faction," which includes industry giants like Coinbase and venture capital firm a16z, advocates for bundling the legislation. This group believes that combining the bills is the only viable path to completing market structure reform this year. On the other hand, the "step-by-step faction," led by the DeFi community, prefers to pass the "GENIUS Act" first to achieve a phased victory. This faction argues that swift passage of the "GENIUS Act" would be a significant step forward and could pave the way for further reforms.

The division within the House reflects the broader challenges in legislating complex issues related to the cryptocurrency industry. The "GENIUS Act" aims to provide a regulatory framework for digital assets, while the "Market Structure Act" focuses on broader market reforms. The outcome of this debate will have significant implications for the future of cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S. and could set a precedent for how similar legislation is handled in the future.