White House Secures Votes for Historic Crypto Regulation Bill

The White House has announced that there are sufficient votes to pass the GENIUS Act, a significant piece of legislation aimed at regulating cryptocurrency. This bill, if approved, would be the first major crypto legislation ever passed by Congress. The path to this vote has been marked by political drama and procedural challenges.

Initially, a group of conservative Republicans staged a rebellion, halting the procedural vote to advance three crypto bills, including the GENIUS Act. This act is designed to establish a regulatory framework for the stablecoin market, which is valued at $250 billion. The stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of assets like the U.S. dollar. House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled the remaining floor votes, and the holdouts met with President Trump, who later announced that they had agreed to support the legislation.

However, the drama continued during Wednesday's procedural vote, with a few holdouts initially voting against moving forward. The vote was held open for nearly 10 hours as the holdouts sought to merge a broader market structure bill with legislation to ban a central bank digital currency. Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who leads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, indicated that a deal had been made with President Trump to package the two digital asset measures.

The plan faced opposition from those who wrote the legislation, disrupting what House Republicans had termed "crypto week." The original plan was to combine the GENIUS Act with the CLARITY Act, a broader bill setting rules for when a digital asset is considered a commodity or security. This combination would have sent the legislation back to the Senate, slowing the process. President Trump had urged Congress to pass the GENIUS Act as a standalone bill, asserting it would position the U.S. as a leader in digital assets.

Conservatives pushed to tie the CLARITY Act with the controversial Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Surveillance State Act, which prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. They argued that the Senate's stablecoin bill and the broader market structure legislation were insufficient because they allowed for a central bank digital currency, which they opposed.

A deal was ultimately reached late Wednesday to tie the ban on a central bank digital currency with the must-pass annual defense reauthorization bill. This allowed the legislative process to move forward, with holdouts flipping their votes to support the legislation.

The Senate had previously approved the bipartisan stablecoin bill last month, despite hiccups caused by a Democratic revolt over concerns about the Trump family's business ventures involving crypto and the potential for foreign influence. The Trump family's crypto investments have significantly increased their wealth in recent months, as the administration has loosened the federal government's regulatory approach to the digital currency industry. The White House has denied any conflicts of interest, stating that President Trump's assets are managed by his children in a trust.

Democratic critics have expressed concerns that the legislation does not contain strong enough provisions to protect consumers, the financial system, and national security. House Democrats have echoed similar criticisms. Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, argued that passing this bill would signal to the world that Congress is okay with corruption and foreign influence. However, Democrats who support the legislation argue that regulations are long overdue, even if the measure is imperfect. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey stated during floor debate that the question is whether the U.S. wants some rules of the road or no rules at all.