Trump signs GENIUS Act into law
President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law amid much fanfare on July 18.
Passed by the Senate on June 17 and the House on July 17, it is the first major crypto-related legislation to become a law in the U.S.
The landmark legislation aims to regulate stablecoins — a cryptocurrency segment that attempts to stabilize its value, unlike traditionally volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, by being pegged to a traditional currency like the U.S. dollar or a commodity like gold.
The GENIUS Act mandates strict stablecoin reserve, transparency, and oversight requirements within a federal framework. Trump thanked the bill's sponsor, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), for drafting it.
"It's a very important act, the GENIUS Act. They named it after me," he quipped.
Industry leaders and experts hail 'watershed moment'
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of the stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), called the legislation "enormously significant" and said it will unleash American technology innovation to build the new internet financial system.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of the blockchain tech and stablecoin issuer Ripple, compared the historic moment to the passing of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010.
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Kraken crypto exchange’s global head of policy and government relations, Jonathan Jachym, told TheStreet Roundtable:
"These milestones reflect years of collaboration among industry leaders, public servants, and American voters who see crypto policy as a path to empowering individuals, protecting consumers, and keeping the U.S. at the forefront of financial innovation."
Ji Hun Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), said:
"The passage of the GENIUS Act is a true watershed moment for the US. This comprehensive framework gives issuers, builders, and regulators the clear rules they have been asking for. It puts innovation and consumer protection first."
Trump-backed stablecoin worth $2.2B market cap
The stablecoin industry is worth $260 billion at the time of writing, with Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC themselves accounting for more than 85% of the total market share, as per DeFiLlama.
USD1, the stablecoin launched by the Trump family-backed crypto company World Liberty Financial in March, has a market cap of only $2.2 billion.
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However, the offering, along with other crypto ventures associated with the First Family, has been under public scrutiny as Democrat leaders such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have criticized the president for alleged conflicts of interest.
More 'clarity' to crypto industry
Thomas Mattimore, co-creator of the decentralized finance (DeFi) investment platform Reserve, told TheStreet Roundtable in a written statement:
“The legislation that’s moving through Congress will provide clarity – pun intended – to those of us who are driving decentralized finance forward."
The "clarity" Mattimore mentioned alluded to the CLARITY Act that the House passed the previous day along with the Anti-CBDC Act. The Senate is yet to pass these two bills.
The total crypto market cap stood at $3.85 trillion at the time of writing.