'Lightning fast': House lawmakers get a stern directive from Trump
President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday to demand that the House immediately act on a new package of cryptocurrency laws passed by the Senate.
"The Senate just passed an incredible Bill that is going to make America the UNDISPUTED Leader in Digital Assets — Nobody will do it better, it is pure GENIUS!" wrote Trump. "Digital Assets are the future, and our Nation is going to own it. We are talking about MASSIVE Investment, and Big Innovation. The House will hopefully move LIGHTNING FAST, and pass a 'clean' GENIUS Act."
"Get it to my desk, ASAP — NO DELAYS, NO ADD ONS," Trump added. "This is American Brilliance at its best, and we are going to show the World how to WIN with Digital Assets like never before!"
The GENIUS Act is the first legislation aimed at regulating so-called stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency intended to remain stable in price as opposed to typical coins that can fluctuate wildly in value.
However, its passage in the Senate was fraught, as Democrats initially blocked the bill over a variety of concerns, including a lack of consumer protections, the potential domination of the space by tech companies, and the fact that the bill had a loophole that could be exploited by the Trump family to continue profiting off crypto ventures personally, a massive potential conflict of interest.
Critics of the bill still fear it would be a giveaway to Trump. However, according to Politico, a bipartisan group of lawmakers were able to make several changes to the bill satisfying some of Democrats' other concerns, including "limitations on big tech firms issuing stablecoins, expanded prohibitions on interest-bearing stablecoins and 'a broad savings clause guaranteeing the application of existing federal consumer protection laws, including but not limited to protections stemming from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission.'"
The bill could still hit hurdles in the House, where, as Trump sought to head off in his Truth Social post, some lawmakers want to make changes to the Senate version or bundle it with other legislation that could require a conference or Senate revote.