GENIUS Act at 1: Stablecoin Rules Still Months Away

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno were scheduled to brief Trump on the bill Thursday. No public readout followed. Both lawmakers posted on social media about the president's election comments later that day.

The largest obstacle to passage is the absence of an ethics provision that would prevent senior government officials from profiting from their own crypto ventures. Individuals following the issue told CoinDesk there is no bipartisan agreement on ethics as of press time.

Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Trump asking for a voluntary financial disclosure covering the first half of 2026. His 2025 disclosure showed he made over $1.4 billion from various crypto ventures. Warren said that document "is not an up-to-date reflection of your finances" and noted that the next required filing is not due until May 2027. A voluntary disclosure, she argued, would give Congress the information it needs to address governmental ethics concerns.

On the House side, the Financial Services digital assets subcommittee held a hearing Friday on what the Clarity Act would do. Subcommittee chair Rep. Bryan Steil said in his opening remarks that Congress needed to pass the bill to replace regulation by enforcement with clear rules. "For 250 years, America has led the world in financial innovation," he said. "For 15 years, blockchain technology has redefined what's possible. For 10 years, Congress has worked to write the rules of this new financial frontier, and for one year we have had a statutory framework for payment stablecoins. Now it's our turn to meet the moment."

The timeline for finalizing the GENIUS Act rulemakings stretches into late 2026. The Clarity Act faces an ethics standoff with no clear resolution. No date has been set for a floor vote on the broader bill.