President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law over the weekend, the country’s first major federal cryptocurrency bill. The legislation is aimed at ensuring consumers and investors are protected from bad actors who attempt to manipulate the crypto market.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency tied to specific assets, such as the U.S. dollar or gold. They serve as an alternative to standard cryptocurrency that can be more volatile in value. Many in the crypto community believe that stablecoins are the wave of the future and could replace hard currency as a form of payment – but only if consumers are confident in the security of the novel technology.
At the signing ceremony for the bill, Trump reiterated his promise from the 2024 campaign trail to make the United States the world leader in cryptocurrency. “I pledged that we would bring back American liberty and leadership and make the United States the crypto capital of the world,” he said. “And that’s what we’ve done under the Trump administration.”
The White House released a statement providing the specifics of the law in greater detail, including a requirement for “100% reserve backing with liquid assets like U.S. dollars or short-term Treasuries and requires issuers to make monthly, public disclosures of the composition of reserves.”
Individuals or companies that issue stablecoins must also “comply with strict marketing rules to protect consumers from deceptive practices.” If a stablecoin becomes insolvent, the new law will prioritize “holders’ claims over all other creditors, ensuring a final backstop of consumer protection.”
The White House explained that the GENIUS Act will increase global demand for U.S. debt as well as bolster the U.S. Dollar’s position as the “global reserve currency by requiring stablecoin issuers to back their assets with Treasuries and U.S. dollars.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised Trump and Congress for quickly passing the law and explained how it will impact the U.S. dollar’s dominance in a post on X.
“Stablecoins represent a revolution in digital finance,” Bessent said. “The dollar now has an internet native payment rail that is fast, frictionless, and free of middlemen. This groundbreaking technology will buttress the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency, expand access to the dollar economy for billions across the globe, and lead to a surge in demand for U.S. treasuries which back stablecoins.”
The law passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support. Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the law in both the Senate and the House. The bill passed through the Senate 68-30 with 18 Democrats joining Republicans to vote in the affirmative on June 17. In the House, 102 Democrats joined Republicans to send the bill to Trump’s desk in a 308-122 vote last Thursday.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
Say goodbye to hard currency. This is start where you can be tracked by the government and if someone doesn’t like you, you could find yourself unable to access your money. This is leading to a day when all could be a slave to the government and ruling elite.
I think this elevation of crypto to serve as a backing for our currency is very dangerous. All currency (even gold) must have the public’s faith that it represents true value. Backing currency with stablecoins or anything else must gain the trust of the masses or it will not work as a valuable asset. I don’t fully understand it myself and fear you may have trouble convincing the common man, let alone foreigners, to accept it as such.
Why, all of a sudden is Gold not mentioned any more? Was all our Gold gone when they went and looked?
Crypto and AI are taking us down a very slippery slope. They are both opening a door to allow outside forces to control our lives, screw us over, and track what we’re doing. Everyone should be very skeptical of these things and do their best to avoid them. What comes next is the embedded RFI chips on everyone. Be vigilant, people. These are not good things. They are not beneficial to the average citizens, like you and me. They are going to lead to bad things in the future. It’s already started with AI. The scammers are finding this tool very beneficial to their “craft.” Trust no one and nothing when it comes to any of this stuff.
Backing non money,Dollars with more non money crypto isn’t going to fool foreign central banks.
I am confused by this act. Is the US Goverment going to mine the stablecoins the same as Bitcoins are now & then sell them? Does Trump have any idea how much electric power is needed to mine Bitcoins? A Chinese wanted to constuct a plant in Washington a couple of years ago & that plant needed the electric power that could power 84,000 homes . And will this be ripe for the ransomware paid thru Bitcoin so that the owner cannot be traced ? How will this benefit the middle and lower class Americans?
My goodness the wisdom our great Orange President has. Attempting to fix the massive ills of one FIAT currency type with another even more risky FIAT currency type and this one with a touch of “social credit score” thrown in.
Funny how all the complaining about how China implemented their social credit score system has all died down. Had to so we could establish our own.
Promises made promises kept