Congress Takes Swift Action to Shape the Future of Stablecoins in the Crypto World

The House of Representatives just released its version of the STABLE Act, following the Senate’s recent approval of a similar bill. This new legislation will set rules for how companies can create and use digital tokens backed by the U.S. dollar, marking a major step in bringing more oversight and clarity to the growing crypto industry.

The House of Representatives has released its version of the bill to set rules for companies to create and use digital tokens backed by the U.S. dollar, following the Senate’s approval of a similar bill last week.

The legislation, which is now pending in both chambers of Congress, will bring more oversight and clarity to the growing crypto industry.

The new bill will help align the House and Senate’s efforts, making the two versions of the bill more similar and easier to work with, said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who helped write the bill in the lower chamber.

“This legislation is a strong continuation of our work on digital assets in the last Congress,” said Rep. French Hill, R-Texas, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee.

Also on Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee Chair mentioned that a revised version of the market structure bill is nearly complete, following work from his committee last year.

The bill, called FIT 21 (Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act), passed the House last year with support from 71 Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Hill plans to release a revised draft in the next few weeks, after receiving “technical assistance.”

The market structure bill from last year aimed to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more control over crypto markets, especially bitcoin, and clarify the SEC’s role.

Passing the market structure bill is more challenging than the stablecoin legislation due to its complexity. When FIT 21 passed the House, it was influenced by opposition to former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and President Joe Biden, leading to some compromises. But now, with a different political landscape, those compromises may no longer be necessary.

The Senate Banking Committee recently advanced the bipartisan GENIUS Act, which aims to establish a framework for regulating stablecoins and determining when issuers fall under state or federal oversight.

Some Democrats expressed concerns and sought changes, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, in the House, Republicans, led by Rep. Bryan Steil, introduced the STABLE Act in February to regulate stablecoins.