WASHINGTON — A crypto bill cleared a key Senate hurdle on Monday as a group of Democrats got back on board with the legislation after balking over President Donald Trump’s digital asset self-enrichment schemes.
The Senate voted 66-32 to proceed to the legislation, with 16 Democrats in favor and two Republicans against.
By helping Republicans pass the legislation, the 16 Senate Democrats are doing a big favor for a little-respected industry that poured money into last year’s elections and is now threatening to oust lawmakers who get in its way.
The bill had been set to pass earlier this month but Democrats voted no as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised alarms about Trump’s ethically dubious plans to host a private dinner for the biggest buyers of his meme coin.
Now the bill is back, with modest changes, but it still contains no ban on Trump selling crypto from the White House. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), one of the lead negotiators on the recent changes, signaled earlier on Monday it was the best they could do.
“Many senators, myself included, have very real concerns about the Trump family’s use of crypto technologies to evade oversight, hide shady financial dealings, and personally profit at the expense of everyday Americans,” Warner said in a statement.
“But we cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay,” Warner said. “If American lawmakers don’t shape it, others will – and not in ways that serve our interests or democratic values.”
Warner voted for the bill along with fellow Democratic Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (Md.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), John Fetterman (Pa.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.).
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation in U.S. Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, would set up regulations for stablecoins, a type of digital asset with a fixed value that is often used in transactions. The bill’s backers see it as the first step in winning legitimacy for an industry best known for scams and speculation.
The Trump family has been making millions from both stablecoins and meme coins since Trump took office this year, and the president is set to host a dinner and reception Thursday for the 225 biggest investors in his $TRUMP coin, which, like other meme coins, has no inherent value.
Ezra Levin, co-director of the progressive group Indivisible, said Senate Democrats are muddying the party’s message as Trump sells coins while Republicans pass tax cuts for the rich funded by cuts to programs for the poor.
“This week should be about two things: Republicans in Congress doing a smash and grab to gut Medicaid to give huge tax breaks to billionaires, and Donald Trump accepting massive bribes in the form of crypto payments and multi-million dollar jets,” Levin said. “Instead of that clear message, a handful of Senate Dems decided they’d rather do a big favor for the crypto industry and legitimize an avenue for Trump to collect bribes.”
Democrats won several small changes to the bill, including a ban on publicly traded companies issuing their own stablecoins, something critics feared would allow companies to force customers to use their own special currency. The bill would still allow private nonfinancial companies to issue stablecoins, and public companies could apply for an exemption.
In a floor speech on Monday, Warren said the bill essentially legitimizes the industry Trump is using for his own self-enrichment, noting one industry analysis found the law would vastly expand the market for stablecoins.
“It is fitting that we are voting on the GENIUS Act just a few days before President Trump hosts a private intimate dinner and a VIP White House tour for the top investors in his meme coin — many of whom remain anonymous,” Warren said.
“And, for this first time in American history, it also makes our president – Donald Trump – the regulator of his own financial product,” Warren said.
The Senate will still have to hold more votes on the bill before it can pass, but getting enough Democratic support to defeat a filibuster on Monday evening was the biggest obstacle to its eventually clearing the chamber.
