The United States Senate is set to start voting on a crypto bill tomorrow as it needs bipartisan backing to advance. The GENIUS Act, led by Senator Bill Hagerty, would require all stablecoins to be backed by U.S. dollars and also short-term Treasuries.
Cloture was filed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday evening, allowing the bill to advance toward a procedural stage requiring the backing of the Senate. The U.S. Senate is set to begin voting on the stablecoin bill on Thursday amid increasing divisions within the GOP and resistance from Democrats.
The crypto bill would need all stablecoins to be fully backed by short-term Treasuries and the U.S. dollar.
Senate awaits voting on Thursday
The crypto bill, backed by Senator Bill Hagerty, would need stablecoins to be fully backed by short-term Treasuries and the U.S. dollar. On Tuesday evening, John Thune, Senate Majority Leader, filed cloture on the bill, advancing it for a procedural voting process requiring bipartisan support.
Republican supporters of the crypto bill were allegedly seeking to address issues within their party while also attempting to get support from some influential Democrats. Some of the Democratic Senators publicly opposed the recent version of the crypto bill on Saturday.
The crypto bill would need 60 votes to advance, meaning it will take the 53 Republicans and a group of Democrats to move the bill forward.
A section of senators oppose the bill
Nine Democrats, including Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner, Raphael Warnock, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Andy Kim, have agreed to sign opposition to the current version of the stablecoin bill.
The opposing Democrat Senators called for stricter regulations on foreign stablecoin issuers. The nine senators also called for improved anti-money laundering regulations. Senator Richard Blumenthal also sent an inquiry to a firm linked to U.S. President Donald Trump, named World Liberty Financial . The senator sent the inquiry in a bid to investigate conflicts of interest.
Senator Kevin Cramer said it sounded like they were getting close to regaining the momentum. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a top crypto advocate who has co-sponsored the bill, revealed Republicans would be meeting with influential Democratic holdouts soon.
The Wyoming Republican had a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who directed Democrats not to commit to backing the stablecoin bill to force changes. Lummis said Schumer wanted to get something done and that they would continue to work on it.
A number of Republicans have also shared their concerns regarding the latest version of the stablecoin act. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, said he was not going to back the bill, claiming that the regulation was unnecessary and could end up harming the crypto industry after some years.
Senator Josh Hawley, yet another Republican, said he was not a big fan of big firms offering their own stablecoin, which would be established under the new bill. Opponents of the stablecoin bill have argued that the bill would enable giant tech and commercial companies to venture into financial services.
John Kennedy, a Republican Senator, voted for the act when it passed the Senate Banking Committee a month ago. Kennedy recently said he would not commit to backing the bill on the floor until he saw what the final text looked like. He said the bill had changed a lot, and they were still making deals all over and in almost half of Georgia. The senator declared that he would not back it until he understood what those deals were and how the crypto bill had changed.
Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More
