President Trump just signed what he’s calling a “hell of an act”, the GENIUS Act, marking the biggest leap into crypto regulation the U.S. has ever taken.
Standing in the East Room of the White House, Trump called the bill “very important” and joked that it was named after him. With lawmakers and major crypto players from Robinhood, Tether, and Gemini looking on, the president officially opened a new chapter for the $250 billion stablecoin market.
This bill, officially titled the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, sets up the first real framework for how digital dollars are managed. It gives both banks and nonbanks the green light to issue stablecoins, so long as they’re backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars or Treasury bills. For a market that’s often been the Wild West, this is the first time there’s a sheriff in town.
Stablecoins aren’t the high-risk, high-volatility cryptos like Bitcoin or Dogecoin. Their value is pegged to real-world assets like the U.S. dollar. That’s why Congress sees them as a “safe” way for both businesses and everyday users to transact in crypto without wild swings. Senator Bill Hagerty, the bill’s sponsor, pushed the angle that stablecoins could allow near-instantaneous payments for businesses and consumers, solving the clunky, slow transfer issues of traditional banking.
Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Earlier this week, a dozen conservative Republicans almost tanked the bill during a procedural vote. That is, until Speaker Mike Johnson clued Trump in, who says he got on the phone and talked most of them into flipping. “Hello, Jim, how are you?” the president joked. “‘Sir, you have my vote.’ Boom.” Vice President JD Vance also got some late-night calls in, doing the back-channel hustle to make sure the bill went through.
Crypto venture capitalist and White House AI/Crypto czar David Sacks said Trump “stepped in and saved this bill.” The crypto community agrees, many of them felt dismissed or laughed at just a couple of years ago, and now they’ve got the president of the United States vouching for their future. “You were counted out as little as a year and a half ago. But this signing is a massive validation,” Trump said.
And the GENIUS Act isn’t the only crypto buzz coming out of DC. Two other bills, the Clarity Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, also made it through Congress. The Clarity Act expands rules to cover other digital commodities, while the Anti-CBDC Act blocks the Fed from launching a retail Central Bank Digital Currency. Taken together, Republicans are dubbing this “Crypto Week,” a full-on embrace of blockchain into U.S. financial policy.
Trump also used the moment to declare that the GENIUS Act will be the start of a financial revolution, something he likened to the birth of the Internet. According to him, the bill doesn’t just allow digital currencies to flourish, it “strengthens the dollar” and makes U.S. financial infrastructure fit for the 21st century. Big words, but not out of character.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Trump signing ceremony without something controversial. He also mentioned his decision to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the man behind the Silk Road online black market. That announcement, though not directly tied to the crypto bill, hit the internet like a thunderclap, many in the Bitcoin world had long viewed Ulbricht as a symbol of overreach.
And let’s not forget: the same day, Trump also celebrated a separate legislative win. The House approved a $9 billion rescissions package, slashing foreign aid and public broadcasting funds, NPR and PBS included. Trump posted about it on Truth Social, bragging that “Republicans have tried doing this for 40 years, and failed…but no more.”
He’s also stirring the pot with new moves in the Jeffrey Epstein case. After public pressure, Trump has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein. Bondi confirmed the DOJ is ready to file that motion. If approved, we’re likely to see even more political firestorms in the coming months.
But for now, the GENIUS Act is the headline. With stablecoins now locked into law and banks able to join the crypto game, the U.S. just took a major step toward mainstreaming digital currency. Whether it lives up to the hype, or just turns into another regulatory mess, remains to be seen. But Trump and the crypto crowd are already calling it a win.
Leo Cruz brings sharp insights into the world of politics, offering balanced reporting and analysis on the latest policies, elections, and global political events. With years of experience covering campaigns and interviewing world leaders, Leo ensures readers are always informed and engaged.
