The Senate voted Thursday to wrap up debate on a stablecoin bill, teeing up a final vote on the legislation that would establish regulatory rules of the road for the dollar-backed cryptocurrencies.
Keeping in line with earlier votes on the GENIUS Act, a small contingent of Democrats voted with most Republicans to tee up a final vote on the crypto bill, which will likely occur early next week.
The legislation had to clear a few smaller votes Thursday before senators could cast their ballots to end debate.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who has repeatedly voiced concerns about President Trump’s growing ties to the crypto industry, sought to force a vote on an amendment that would “end current and potential criminal corruption by federal elected officials.”
Democrats have increasingly expressed alarm, as crypto legislation has progressed at the same time the president and his family launch various crypto ventures.
Trump launched a meme coin shortly before his inauguration, the top investors in which were invited to a private dinner with the president last month.
World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm launched by Trump and his sons last fall, also unveiled a stablecoin in March that was later used to complete a controversial $2 billion transaction between an Emirati firm and the crypto exchange Binance.
“This is the U.S. government for sale in a way we've never seen,” Merkley said from the Senate floor Thursday. “This is the Mount Everest of corruption. And right at this moment, the Senate is debating a cryptocurrency bill.”
“Isn't this the moment we should debate whether or not federal elected officials — ourselves, the vice president, the president, members of the Cabinet — should be offering for sale our personal coins in order for people to give us money,” he continued. “Because really, it's just like somebody handing us a stack of money.”
The effort was voted down almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats supporting the measure. Nearly every Republican opposed, with the exception of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has repeatedly voted against the GENIUS Act.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) initially vowed to hold an open amendment process on the bill. However, as controversial amendments threatened the GENIUS Act's future, he scrapped the push for so-called “regular order.”
He instead scheduled a vote Wednesday on an updated version of the bill, reached as part of negotiations between Republicans and crypto-friendly Democrats last month.
The GENIUS Act picked up two new votes from Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) on Wednesday but lost Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s (D-Del.) support following the decision to forgo the open amendment process.
Blunt Rochester, who voted for the bill both in the Senate Banking Committee in March and on the Senate floor last month, had emphasized that she hoped to see additional changes down the line.
As the stablecoin bill heads to a final vote, another key crypto bill is gaining steam on the House side. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would divvy up oversight of the broader crypto market between two financial regulators, advanced out of two House committees Tuesday.
The Trump administration and GOP leaders have repeatedly underscored their hopes of getting both stablecoin and crypto market structure bills across the finish line before lawmakers head out of town for their August recess.
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