As stablecoin bill heads to House, Senate shifts to market structure

Roughly a week after the US Senate voted to pass the GENIUS Act to regulate payment stablecoins, the chamber is moving to discuss a path forward for a digital asset market structure framework.

On Tuesday, lawmakers in the Senate Banking Committee’s digital asset subcommittee will hear from lawyers at Coinbase and Multicoin Capital as part of efforts to establish “bipartisan legislative frameworks for digital asset market structure.”

The hearing will include testimony from Coinbase’s vice president of legal, Ryan VanGrack, Multicoin Capital’s general counsel, Greg Xethalis and University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Executive Director,Sarah Hammer.

The hearing will be one of the Senate's first follow-ups on digital asset legislation since passing the GENIUS Act on June 17 in a 68 to 30 vote. The bill moved to the House of Representatives for discussion, proposed amendments, and a possible floor vote.

While the Senate considers a bipartisan solution for crypto market structure, the House is already moving forward with its own legislation. Earlier this month, the House Agriculture Committee and the House Financial Services Committee voted to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity, or CLARITY Act. The bill is expected to head for a floor vote soon.

Related: Senate passes GENIUS stablecoin bill amid concerns over systemic risk

It’s unclear whether the Senate will introduce its own version of the House’s CLARITY Act to address crypto market structure in the form of a companion bill or incorporating aspects of the House bill. Cointelegraph reached out to Senator Cynthia Lummis, chair of the digital assets subcommittee, for comment on the hearing, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Trump’s crypto ties still under scrutiny

Combined, the stablecoin bill and the market structure bill could address many of the regulatory issues that leaders in the crypto industry have criticized about the US. However, the legislation still faces pushback from many Democrats in Congress, questioning how US President Donald Trump and his family could personally profit from the bills passing, given their ties to the industry through memecoins, the World Liberty Financial platform, and political donations from digital asset companies’ executives.

Trump said on Wednesday that he would sign the GENIUS Act with “no add ons” if the House were to pass it quickly. However, it’s unclear if digital assets will be a priority for the president as he faces scrutiny for ordering strikes on Iran without congressional approval over the weekend. 

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