The U.S. Senate has advanced major stablecoin legislation, passing a crucial procedural hurdle in a 68-30 vote.
The legislation, which is known as the GENIUS Act, is widely expected to finally pass next week. The final vote will take place on June 16.
Earlier today, Senators voted to limit debate on the Hagerty-Gillibrand bipartisan substitute amendment to the much-talked-about bill. At least 60 votes were needed in order to invoke cloture.
The amendment, which was introduced earlier this week, introduces more robust anti-money-laundering (ALM) safeguards and explicitly bans stablecoins issued in jurisdictions sanctioned by federal authorities.
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The passage of the bill would mark a major win for the emboldened cryptocurrency industry. As reported by U.Today, such prominent voices as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse have called for clear stablecoin rules.
As reported by U.Today, the GENIUS Act failed to pass a procedural hurdle, but it then managed to secure support from some crypto-friendly Democrats.
Locking in the dollar’s dominance
In the meantime, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stressed that stablecoins could “lock in” the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
In May, Bessent told Bloomberg that dollar-backed cryptocurrencies could generate $2 trillion worth of additional demand for US Treasuries.