GENIUS Act signed as stablecoin regulation divides opinion
Supporters claim the GENIUS Act blocks CBDC powers, but crypto experts and politicians remain divided.
President Donald Trump has officially signed the GENIUS Act into law, marking a historic step in establishing a legal framework for stablecoins in the US. The act, passed with bipartisan support on 18 July, introduces the first rules for the $250 billion stablecoin market.
While Trump hailed the bill’s passage as a major achievement, backlash has emerged from both politicians and crypto insiders. Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene condemned the bill, arguing it could secretly enable the rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
She warned that stablecoins under state control may function like a surveillance tool and criticised the absence of a clause banning CBDCs from the legislation.
Outside Capitol Hill, concerns were echoed by prominent Bitcoin advocate Justin Bechler, who likened the act to a covert power grab by central authorities. He claimed that fully compliant, state-enforced stablecoins effectively amount to CBDCs in practice.
Jean Rausis of SmarDex also described the bill as a ‘CBDC trojan horse’.
However, some believe the criticism is misplaced. Journalist Eleanor Terrett noted that the GENIUS Act includes language that prohibits the Federal Reserve from launching a retail CBDC.
Senator Tim Scott supported this view, stating the act does not expand the Fed’s powers in any direction resembling a digital currency for the public.
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