May 21, 2026

The U.S. Senate voted 69-31 on Wednesday to proceed to full floor debate on the GENIUS Act, the first comprehensive federal stablecoin legislation in U.S. history. The motion to proceed clears the last procedural barrier before a final passage vote, which Senate leadership expects to schedule after Memorial Day recess. The bill, S.1582, is sponsored by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and co-sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), among others.

"America urgently needs a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins," Hagerty said from the Senate floor in remarks urging colleagues to support the bill.

What the Bill Does

The GENIUS Act — Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins — creates a licensing regime for what it terms "permitted payment stablecoin issuers." Three entity types qualify: subsidiaries of insured depository institutions supervised by their primary federal banking agency; federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers, which are OCC-chartered nonbank entities approved by the Comptroller of the Currency; and state qualified payment stablecoin issuers operating under state frameworks. The bill explicitly classifies payment stablecoins as neither securities nor commodities, removing the regulatory ambiguity that has hung over Circle and Tether for years.

Foreign issuers — including Tether, incorporated offshore — may access U.S. markets only if they register with the OCC, hold reserve assets in U.S. financial institutions sufficient to cover redemptions from American holders, and obtain a Treasury Department determination that their home jurisdiction maintains comparable regulations. AML coordination requirements run through Treasury and DOJ, with issuers required to maintain the technological capability to comply with lawful government orders, including blocking or seizing assets on demand.

Once effective — the earlier of 18 months after enactment or 120 days after final implementing regulations — it becomes unlawful for any person to issue a payment stablecoin in the United States without a permit.

The Coalition

Wednesday's 69-31 tally widens the already bipartisan margin from the May 19-20 cloture vote (66-32). Eighteen Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to support the bill; the only Republican opposition came from Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rand Paul (R-KY).

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, delivered the sharpest dissent. "A bill that turbocharges the stablecoin market, while facilitating the President's corruption and undermining national security, financial stability, and consumer protection is worse than no bill at all," Warren said on the floor, pointing to President Trump's meme coin venture and an upcoming private dinner for top investors in that coin as evidence of a conflict of interest the bill leaves unaddressed.

House Path

The House holds its own stablecoin proposal, the STABLE Act. House leaders now face a choice: adopt the Senate text outright, send it to conference, or fold elements into a broader legislative package. The two bills are conceptually close — both define payment stablecoins and create a federal licensing structure — but diverge on treatment of foreign issuers and phase-in timelines. A conference or negotiated merger would delay the final legislative package; adopting Senate text would move fastest. Congress.gov records show S.1582 ultimately became Public Law 119-27 on July 18, 2026, suggesting the House path resolves in relatively short order.

Stakes

Stablecoins have grown to account for the majority of on-chain transaction volume, making the GENIUS Act's regulatory perimeter a structural question for the entire crypto market. For Circle — which already operates under U.S. law and holds reserves in short-duration Treasuries — the bill formalizes existing practice and may smooth its IPO path. For Tether, the bill sets a compliance clock. For bank-affiliated issuers exploring dollar stablecoin products, the OCC-regulated pathway is now legislated. Ether has been trading near all-time highs in part on regulatory clarity expectations; passage removes a major policy overhang for the sector.