GENIUS Act becomes law as Trump approves cryptocurrency regulation

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. 

Trump recalled ahead of signing the bill 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 that spearheaded the legislation. 

HOUSE PASSES BILL MAXINE WATERS DUBBED ‘A FULL-SCALE CRYPTO CON’ 

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

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 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. 

VANCE DECLARES ‘CRYPTO FINALLY HAS A CHAMPION’ IN TRUMP WHITE HOUSE

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) speaks at a rally featuring U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota.  (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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.

SENATE PASSES LANDMARK CRYPTO LEGISLATION AS BANKING CHAIRMAN TOUTS ‘HISTORIC DAY’

“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 also 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

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) questions Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as he appears before the House Financial Services Committee on May 7, 2025, in Washington.