The GENIUS stablecoin bill has progressed further, with the Trump family's interests becoming a focal point of the Senate debate.

Original Title: "The US GENIUS stablecoin bill passes Senate vote, still needs approval from the House and the President, the Trump family's stablecoin becomes one of the controversies"

Original author: Weilin, PANews

On May 20 at 10:00 AM Beijing time, the U.S. Senate voted 66 in favor and 32 against to pass the motion to end debate on the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill (cloture). Although the bill itself has not yet passed, the next step for the GENIUS Act will enter the Senate floor debate and amendment process, but this result clears a significant hurdle for final legislation.

Since Senator Bill Hagerty officially introduced the GENIUS Act on February 4, the text of the bill has undergone multiple revisions, incorporating more anti-money laundering, consumer protection, and custody provisions, while restricting tech giants from issuing stablecoins unless they implement robust financial risk controls and strong consumer data privacy protections. The advancement of the bill also showcases the key negotiations between bipartisan legislators on the issue of stablecoins.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Trump publicly stated that the regulatory framework for stablecoins and market institutions is expected to be introduced before the August congressional recess. If this important bill is ultimately passed, it will become the first federal-level stablecoin legislation in the United States, with far-reaching implications that cannot be ignored.

With the Senate vote passed, what are the remaining hurdles for the GENIUS bill to become official law? What legislative procedures need to be completed, and what are the focal points of the discussions among the legislators?

The bill version is constantly changing: adding more anti-money laundering and restrictions on tech giants.

On May 8, the GENIUS Act unexpectedly failed in the Senate's cloture vote ( with a vote of 48 to 49, falling short of the 60 votes needed. However, on the morning of May 20, the U.S. Senate voted again, passing the motion to invoke cloture ) for the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill with a vote of 66 in favor and 32 against.

Cloture vote ( is aimed at ending the debate on a certain issue, preventing legislators from using lengthy debates ) filibuster ( to delay or obstruct the voting on a bill.

The focus of the previous debates among lawmakers was on several aspects, firstly the possibility of tech giants like Meta issuing their own stablecoins. Secondly, the business interests relationship between President Trump and the crypto industry. Additionally, nine Democratic senators recently stated in a joint statement that the bill still has shortcomings in areas such as anti-money laundering, national security, and accountability mechanisms.

As of May 19, by comparing the publicly reported old and new versions of the US stablecoin bill GENIUS Act (the latest version has not yet been officially released), it can be seen that the new version has added more provisions regarding anti-money laundering, consumer protection, and custody. The new bill draft introduces an organization called the "Stablecoin Certification Review Committee," responsible for assessing whether state regulatory systems meet federal standards, replacing the relevant powers previously exercised by the Treasury Department, and setting conditions for foreign stablecoin issuers operating in the US.

In addition, the bill will allow technology companies such as Meta to launch stablecoins into the stablecoin market only after implementing robust financial risk controls, strong consumer data privacy protections, and fair business practices.

In addition to these modifications, the core content of the bill includes:

1. The bill defines payment stablecoins as digital assets used for payments or settlements. Such assets are anchored to a fixed currency value and are fully backed on a 1:1 basis by US dollars or other approved high-quality liquid assets as reserves.

2. Licensing and Regulation: The bill establishes a clear application process for issuance licenses, providing guidance for institutions seeking to issue stablecoins. A "dual regulatory framework" has been introduced, allowing issuers to choose to register at the state or federal level. Issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $10 billion will be subject to federal regulation. Issuers with a market capitalization below $10 billion may choose to continue operating under the state regulatory framework, provided that their state regulatory standards are fundamentally aligned with federal requirements.

3. Reserve Requirements: The issuer of the stablecoin must maintain a 1:1 reserve ratio, using high-quality liquid assets such as cash, short-term U.S. Treasury bills, or central bank deposits as reserve assets. Reserve funds must be managed separately from operating funds and must undergo monthly verification.

4. Transparency: The issuer must publicly disclose its reserve assets and redemption policies.

5. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance: The bill classifies stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act, requiring them to fulfill comprehensive anti-money laundering obligations, including consumer identity verification, due diligence, and suspicious activity reporting.

6. Consumer Protection: In the event of the issuer's bankruptcy, holders of the stablecoin will have priority over other creditors in receiving payment.

7. Regulatory Jurisdiction Definition: The bill clearly states that the payment of stablecoins is not considered a security, commodity, or investment company under current federal law.

On May 15, according to the content on page 2 of the GENIUS bill draft disclosed by crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, it is proposed to prohibit stablecoin issuers from misleadingly claiming FDIC insurance or using terms associated with the U.S. government; to prohibit non-financial tech companies such as Meta and Google from issuing stablecoins unless they comply with regulatory requirements, thereby strengthening the separation between banks and commerce; the draft also enhances enforcement capabilities against violations and expands the ethical oversight scope of government special employees (including Elon Musk).

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During the amendment process of the bill, lawmakers from both parties had a heated debate over the Trump family project stablecoin.

Elizabeth Warren, a senior Democratic member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, )ranking member(, has publicly stated that President Trump and his associates have made hundreds of millions of dollars from his crypto business. Each year, Trump is also expected to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from his USD1 stablecoin. THE LATEST DRAFT OF THE GENIUS BILL, CURRENTLY CIRCULATING ONLINE, DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY PROVISIONS TO STOP TRUMP AND HIS FAMILY FROM MAKING A FORTUNE THROUGH THEIR ALLEGEDLY CORRUPT CRYPTOCURRENCY SCHEME. Instead, the bill would expand the stablecoin market, further boosting Trump's crypto gains.

Ultimately, in the process of advancement, according to reports on May 15, the senators from both parties reached a consensus on this issue. Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stated that the wording of the bill has been modified to remove provisions targeting Trump's cryptocurrency projects, such as Meme coins. She emphasized that the revised bill has improvements in areas such as consumer protection and is not focused on Trump's ethical issues, but rather aims to regulate the stablecoin sector.

) needs the green light from both the House of Representatives and the President.

Some analyses indicate that the GENIUS Act takes more time to pass in the Senate and is easier to pass in the House of Representatives.

Generally speaking, a bill is introduced and assigned to a committee. The committee members will research, discuss, and amend the bill. The GENIUS Act proposed by Senator Bill Hagerty was introduced on February 4 of this year, and it was assigned to the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Subsequently, the bill will be voted on in the respective chamber. If the bill passes in one chamber of Congress, it will be sent to the other chamber for the same review, discussion, amendment, and voting process.

After both chambers have voted to pass the bill, the two sides must reconcile the differences between the two versions. Then, both chambers will conduct a final vote on the same version of the bill. If the bill is passed, it will be sent to the President of the United States.

After the President receives a bill, it will be reviewed. The President can approve the bill and sign it into law, or he can refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the President chooses to veto the bill, in most cases, Congress can vote to override the veto and make the bill into law. However, if the President does not sign the bill during a congressional recess, the bill will be automatically vetoed. This action is called a pocket veto, and Congress cannot override such a veto.

From the current progress of the GENIUS Act, the Senate's approval is relatively time-consuming, as it allows for lengthy debates ###filibusters( to block the bill from reaching a final vote. This time, the motion to end debate (cloture motion) requires a three-fifths supermajority (60 votes out of 100). The current Senate composition is as follows: Republicans: 53 seats, Democrats: 45 seats, Independents: 2 seats (who usually vote with the Democrats). This means that in this vote, even if all Republican members vote in favor, they must receive support from Democratic members.

Now, after the GENIUS Act passes the motion to terminate debate in the Senate, it will enter the full debate and amendment phase in the Senate, and then it will move to the House of Representatives.

However, the House of Representatives only requires a simple majority (218 out of 435 votes) to pass legislation. Currently, the House is controlled by a Republican majority (220-215), which makes it relatively easy for the GENIUS Act to pass in the House.

If the GENIUS Act is successfully signed into law by the president, it will have a profound impact on the stablecoin market. For example, it may promote industry consolidation, forcing some smaller issuers to exit the market due to their inability to meet reserve requirements. Increased consumer trust is expected to drive the adoption of stablecoins. Strengthening reserve audits and anti-money laundering compliance measures is likely to enhance market transparency and attract institutional investors. However, non-financial technology companies issuing stablecoins may face restrictions, as the new terms require that non-financial companies comply with regulatory rules, which could create more barriers for non-financial tech giants like Meta and Google to enter the stablecoin space.

However, the issue of the Trump family's profits from USD1 through World Liberty Financial remains an unresolved puzzle. According to the latest public version, the bill does not explicitly restrict the president and his relatives from participating in crypto projects, and this loophole may become a focal point of future debates.

On May 9, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the U.S. Senate failed to advance the GENIUS Act, which is a "missed generational opportunity to expand the dollar's dominance and the impact of financial innovation." He warned that in the absence of a unified federal regulatory framework, stablecoins will develop within fragmented state regulations, which is detrimental to the U.S. maintaining its global leadership and could push digital asset innovation overseas.

Currently, the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill has not yet been formally signed into law, but the successful termination of the debate motion has paved the way for legislation. If it can successfully pass, the bill will not only become the first federal-level stablecoin regulatory framework in the United States, but it may also reshape the entire stablecoin market landscape.

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