Stablecoin bill advances in US Senate in major win for crypto

Legislation on stablecoins has overcome a procedural blockade in the US Senate, which is a major victory for the crypto industry after a group of Democrats dropped their opposition on Monday, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.

DetailsThe industry-backed US regulatory bill is now up for debate in the Senate, and a bipartisan group hopes to pass it as early as this week, although senators have said a final vote could be delayed until after the Memorial Day break.

Democrats united to stall passage of the bill earlier this month amid outrage over US President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency deals and other issues related to stablecoin regulation, the publication writes.

But the Senate voted 66-32 on Monday evening to end the stalling of the bill.

Crypto-friendly Democrats, led by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Angela Olsbrooks, have agreed on changes to the legislation and urged their colleagues to support it even without banning Trump from profiting from his family’s numerous crypto ventures while in office.

A stablecoin linked to the Trump family, whose market value has jumped to more than $2 billion since its announcement in March, has also drawn criticism.

However, Senator Mark Warner, a powerful moderate on the Banking Committee, announced on Monday that he would support the measure, adding that concerns about the Trump family’s business dealings should not overshadow broader stablecoin legislation.

The legislation is “not ideal, but it is much better than the status quo,” Warner said.

Nevertheless, the progressive wing of the party, led by Elizabeth Warren, a senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, remains strongly opposed. During the vote on Tuesday evening, Warren and Gillibrand engaged in a heated argument on the Senate floor.

The US House Financial Services Committee has approved its own stablecoin measure, but it has not yet been passed by the House. Some House Republicans want to combine it with a follow-up bill regulating cryptocurrency regulation more broadly. The House and Senate will have to resolve any differences in the legislation before sending the final version to Trump’s desk.

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