Trump vows to make US ‘crypto capital of the planet,' signs GENIUS Act into law https://ift.tt/mH8o1BG

President Donald Trump signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act Friday — a landmark piece of legislation that establishes federal regulations surrounding digital currency. 

Ahead of signing the bill, Trump recalled how he previously vowed to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" during a keynote address during a bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in July 2024, where he said that regulations his administration would implement would be "written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry." 

"I pledged that we would bring back American liberty and leadership and make the United States the crypto capital of the world," Trump said Friday. "And that's what we've done. And under the Trump administration, this is only going further." 

Stablecoins are a form of digital currency tied to a stable asset like gold or the U.S. dollar, which aims to keep their prices more consistent. 

"Just as I promised last year, the GENIUS Act creates a clear and simple regulatory framework to establish and unleash the immense promise of dollar-backed stablecoin," Trump said Friday. "This could be perhaps the greatest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the internet itself."

Included in the GENIUS Act are provisions requiring monthly public disclosure of reserve competition, as well as annual audited financial statements for issuers with more than $50 billion in market capitalization, according to the Senate Banking Committee, which spearheaded the legislation. 

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The House passed the GENIUS Act Thursday by a 308–122 vote, after the measure cleared the Senate in June by a 68–30 margin. 

"For far too long, America’s digital assets industry has been stifled by ambiguous rules, confusing enforcement and the Biden administration’s anti-crypto crusade,"  Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said during a press conference on Thursday. "But President Trump and this Congress are correcting course and unleashing America’s digital asset potential with historic, transformative legislation." 

Despite the bipartisanship and support from a host of Democrats, the legislation didn’t pick up votes from all members of the president’s party. 

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Twelve Republicans voted against the measure, which has attracted scrutiny from lawmakers like House Financial Services Committee ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., due to conflict-of-interest concerns as Trump has promoted a digital currency called $TRUMP.

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"By passing this bill, Congress will be telling the world that Congress is OK with corruption, OK with foreign companies buying influence, and OK with criminals buying Trump coins to seek pardons and beneficial treatment," Waters said on the House floor Thursday. 

In addition to the GENIUS Act, the House passed two other measures related to cryptocurrency Thursday: Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) to install some additional regulatory framework for digital assets, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which aims to stop the Federal Reserve from central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals and jeopardize their privacy. 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report