CryptoLink - April 2025

Following a two-week Easter recess at the end of April, Congress returned to Washington, D.C. with all eyes on budget reconciliation. Individual committees marked up legislation in accordance with reconciliation directives to pay for immigration, energy and tax priorities, including the extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and the addition of other Trump priorities like no tax on overtime, tips, and social security. After extensive negotiations among House Republican factions, the final bill passed on Thursday, May 22, by a vote of 215-214. It will now be considered by the Senate, which is likely to make changes in a number of areas. While this process dominates members’ attention, comprehensive crypto legislation has moved to the backburner and may not be revisited until later this summer. However, the House recently released a draft of its digital assets regulatory framework bill, and stablecoin legislation has remained a priority. In an April markup, the House Financial Services Committee reported favorably the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act (STABLE; H.R. 2392) by a vote of 32-17. STABLE is a rival bill to the Senate’s Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoin Act (GENIUS; S.394). Two weeks after Senate Democrats united to block the GENIUS Act, a bipartisan group of Senators reached an agreement giving the bill enough support to clear a key procedural hurdle by a vote of 66-32. GENIUS is now likely to pass in the Senate in the next few weeks. While GENIUS and STABLE overlap in a number of areas, key differences would still need to be ironed out in conference before President Trump can sign any final bill into law.