By Morgan Rimmer, CNN
(CNN) — The Senate voted 66-32 Monday evening to advance first-of-its-kind legislation to regulate “stablecoins,” a kind of cryptocurrency. Democrats had initially voted to block the bill earlier this month amid concerns over President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency deals.
The legislation, known as the GENIUS Act, is focused on what is known as stablecoin, a digital currency tied to the value of a specific asset – in this case the US dollar. The push for the bill represented a rare bipartisan effort in the Senate for major legislation. But while there has been general agreement across the Senate that regulation is necessary, key Democrats initially balked at moving ahead after demanding changes to the legislation.
Republicans and Democrats had continued negotiating after the bill initially failed to advance, resulting in a new amendment draft over the weekend that garnered enough support among Democrats to move the package forward.
However, the Democratic caucus remained divided in its support for the bill; while over a dozen Democrats voted with Republicans to advance it, senior Democratic leadership – including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Whip Dick Durbin – voted against invoking cloture.
“Stablecoins are already playing an important role in the global economy, and it is essential that the U.S. enact legislation that protects consumers, while also enabling responsible innovations,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the initial Democratic cosponsors of the bill, said in a statement on Friday.
“The bipartisan GENIUS Act will provide regulatory clarity to this important industry, keep innovation on shore, add robust consumer protection, and reaffirm the dominance of the U.S. dollar,” Gillibrand continued.
Sen. Mark Warner, who had voted with his Democratic colleagues to block the bill earlier this month, insisting that it was “not yet complete,” released a statement early Monday encouraging his colleagues to vote yes on the bill, calling it a “meaningful step forward,” while still acknowledging Democratic anxieties about Trump’s crypto dealings.
“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. We have a duty to shine a light on these abuses and stop Donald Trump from exploiting emerging technologies to enrich himself, dodge accountability, and weaken the safeguards that protect American consumers and the rule of law,” noted Warner.
“Innovation in this space is happening, with or without us. We have a responsibility to ensure it happens safely, transparently, and in a way that advances U.S. economic and national security interests. The GENIUS Act will help get us started,” Warner said.
However, as some Democrats have insisted that an imperfect bill is better than no regulatory legislation, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee argued the opposite. In a speech on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren insisted, “while a strong stablecoin bill is the best possible outcome, this weak bill is worse than no bill at all.”
Warren has opposed to earlier versions of the GENIUS Act, warning that the bill’s attempts to regulate stablecoin are toothless and could harm consumers, spur corruption and even lead to a potential financial crisis.
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