Main Points:
- Bipartisan GENIUS Act Passes Senate: Establishes a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, requiring 1:1 asset backing, reserve disclosures, and consumer safeguards.
- COIN Act Introduced by Sen. Schiff: Prohibits Presidents, Vice Presidents, and their families from issuing, sponsoring, or profiting from any digital assets; mandates disclosure for trades over $1,000 and imposes fines and prison terms.
- Political Context and Ethical Concerns: Triggered by former President Trump’s World Liberty Financial venture and $57 million in crypto gains; reflects intensifying scrutiny of political figures’ digital-asset interests.
- Legislative Dynamics: GENIUS Act moves to the House amid debate over AML protections; COIN Act faces uphill battles in a Republican-controlled Congress.
- Market and Industry Impacts: Stablecoin market poised for growth—possibly $2 trillion by 2035—while the COIN Act highlights the tension between regulatory clarity and ethical accountability.
1. Bipartisan GENIUS Act Passes Senate
On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Senate approved the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act” by a 68–30 vote, marking a watershed in cryptocurrency legislation. The GENIUS Act sets out a comprehensive federal framework for stablecoins—tokens pegged at a 1:1 ratio to the U.S. dollar or other liquid assets such as Treasury bills. Issuers are required to:
- Maintain Full Reserves: Back each issued token with an equivalent value in cash or short-term government securities.
- Regular Disclosure: Publish monthly reports detailing reserve compositions and submit annual independent audits, especially for issuers exceeding $50 billion in market capitalization.
- Consumer Safeguards: Prioritize stablecoin holders in the event of issuer insolvency, reducing the risk of catastrophic de-pegging events akin to the Terra-Luna collapse in 2022.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent forecasts that these measures could expand the U.S. stablecoin market to $2 trillion over the next decade. Critics, however, question the bill’s adequacy in combating money laundering and safeguarding against Big Tech’s potential dominance in financial services.
2. COIN Act Introduced by Sen. Schiff
Just days later, on June 23, 2025, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff unveiled the “Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act,” targeting ethical breaches among high-ranking officials. The COIN Act:
- Prohibits Issuance and Promotion: Bars the President, Vice President, Executive Branch leaders, members of Congress, and their direct family from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing any cryptocurrencies—including meme coins, NFTs, and stablecoins—for six months prior to taking office and two years post-tenure.
- Mandatory Disclosure: Requires public reporting of all digital-asset transactions exceeding $1,000 within 30 days.
- Penalties for Violations: Implements civil fines and up to five years’ imprisonment for non-compliance.
Sen. Schiff emphasized the need to “prevent financial exploitation by those entrusted to serve the public”.
3. Political Context and Ethical Concerns
The COIN Act emerges amid growing unease over political figures’ crypto engagements. Former President Trump’s World Liberty Financial generated tens of millions of dollars, with Trump personally netting $57 million from stablecoin issuance and trading in 2024 alone. This case intensified calls for robust conflict-of-interest safeguards, reigniting debates over whether existing financial-disclosure regimes sufficiently address digital assets.
Meanwhile, the GENIUS Act’s exclusion of a Presidential prohibition raised eyebrows: Schiff himself voted for the stablecoin framework—absent restrictions on the President—just a week before proposing the COIN Act, underscoring the nuanced interplay between broad regulatory goals and targeted ethical measures.
4. Legislative Dynamics
GENIUS Act’s Path Forward
- House Consideration: The bipartisan stablecoin bill now moves to a Republican-majority House, which may revise its AML/BSA provisions or broaden its scope to cover other digital assets. Industry groups like the Conference of State Bank Supervisors are lobbying for tighter oversight of uninsured banks offering crypto custody and transmission services.
COIN Act’s Prospects
- Partisan Hurdles: With nine Democratic co-sponsors but a GOP-controlled chamber, the COIN Act’s passage faces significant challenges. Opponents argue that existing ethics rules and the Emoluments Clause suffice to police conflicts of interest.
- Public Pressure: High-profile media coverage and public calls for transparency may compel lawmakers to attach COIN provisions to broader digital-asset legislation as a compromise.
5. Market and Industry Impacts
The simultaneous advancement of the GENIUS and COIN Acts reflects two converging trends:
- Regulatory Maturation: The stablecoin framework offers legal certainty, encouraging institutional adoption and integration by fintech giants such as Meta, Walmart, and Visa, which are exploring stablecoin payments to streamline cross-border transactions and reduce fees.
- Ethical Accountability: The COIN Act signals that legal clarity alone is insufficient; market integrity demands ethical guardrails that extend to those in power. A robust ethics framework could bolster investor confidence, particularly among retail users wary of potential top-down abuses.
Economic analysts predict that a clear stablecoin regime could catalyze over $1 trillion in daily transaction volume within five years, provided the House enacts the Senate’s GENIUS framework intact. Concurrently, the COIN Act’s moral imperative may set a precedent for future policy, reinforcing the separation between public service and private gain.
Legislative Timeline
Refer to the timeline chart below for the sequence of key events.
Conclusion
In just one week, Congress has vaulted to the forefront of cryptocurrency policy with two landmark but philosophically distinct measures. The GENIUS Act crafts the bedrock for a stablecoin economy—promoting transparency, consumer protection, and market growth—while the COIN Act introduces crucial ethics provisions to ensure that those shaping our financial future do so without personal profiteering.
For practitioners and investors scouting new digital assets and revenue opportunities, the unfolding regulatory landscape offers both clarity and caution. The GENIUS framework may unlock institutional-level stablecoin use cases, while the COIN Act underscores the necessity of vetting not just blockchain code but the character of those in power. Together, they chart a course toward a maturing crypto ecosystem—one where innovation thrives under the watchful eye of ethics and accountability.
