The GENIUS Act has been received in the House after clearing the Senate, but its path forward now depends on the US House of Representatives.
Some lawmakers are pushing to tie its passage to the crypto market structure bill, making the pairing a potential condition for approval.
The bill, officially known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, passed the Senate last week with a bipartisan vote of 68–30.
The bill is centered on creating a national regulatory framework for stablecoins to promote financial innovation while safeguarding consumer protection and financial stability.
This is among the federal government’s most significant efforts to regulate stablecoins. The bill was considered by many to be a milestone in efforts to bring more clarity and legitimacy to the expanding market for digital assets. After normal legislative mechanics, the bill heads to the House, where it is expected to be taken up for debate and vote on the Senate bill.
And should it pass as written, the GENIUS Act would go straight to the President for his signature.
House lawmakers push to merge the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts
The debate centers on the CLARITY Act. The bill creates an overarching structure for developing a cryptocurrency market, dictating how digital assets should be treated (e.g., as securities, commodities, or something else) and which federal agencies should oversee them.
Whereas the GENIUS Act targets stablecoins, the CLARITY Act is meant to fill a regulatory gap for the entire crypto market, covering trading platforms, tokens, and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.
Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer supports merging the two bills, arguing that stablecoin rules should be part of a broader market structure reform.
The CLARITY Act has already been passed by committee markup in the House of Representatives, so it has been debated and worked on in depth. But it has not yet reached the House floor for a full vote, and the Senate has not tackled it.
Combining the two bills would slow the ultimate passage of GENIUS and send it back to the Senate, perhaps to negotiate again.
Yet some lawmakers maintain that a joint package would provide the US with an all-inclusive legal system for digital assets, helping to clarify regulatory uncertainty and bolster investor protections.
Trump urges swift passage without changes
Following the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, US President Trump urged the House to pass the stablecoin bill without modification. Trump wants a clean passage of the GENIUS Act by the House of Representatives, pushing for the bill to reach his desk “ASAP.”
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