The Senate voted 66-22 Monday evening to advance the law on engineering, a bill which aims to regulate certain cryptocurrencies.
The bill has faced a certain democratic opposition in recent weeks during the cryptocurrency companies of President Donald Trump, but he finally obtained the support of 16 Democrats, including Senator Cory Booker, DN.J., and Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
The measure supported by the industry establishes rules targeting stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency set at the value of another asset, often the US dollar.
Supporters welcomed the bill as a means of protecting consumers and setting the industry standards, which could allow these Crypto-de-Façon pieces to become a general public tool for digital payments and other financial instruments.
Critics, however, warned that the bill does not respond to the concerns of conflicts of interest illustrated by Trump, and it may endanger consumers and the wider economy with a low set of rules.
“This opens the ground to make these assets become common,” said News Christian Catalini, founder of Mit Cryptoeconomics Lab, who supports the measure, in ABC News.
Here’s what you need to know about the act of genius and what it means for you.
What is the act of genius?
The law on engineering concerns the emission and exchange of stablecoins, a form of digital currency supported by another form of money such as the US dollar or a commodity like gold.
Stablecoins are designed to be less volatile than other forms of cryptocurrency, which can undergo significant price oscillations and, in turn, pose difficulties for people who use them to facilitate a purchase or a sale.
The bill establishes rules for stablecoin issuers, including a mandate according to which companies hold a reserve of assets underlying the cryptocurrency. This stipulation aims to protect consumers, who otherwise risk failure to withdraw their assets in the event of fast and widespread unloading of the parts.
In a separate effort to protect consumers, the measure would force issuers to grant the priority of parts of parts for reimbursement in the event of bankruptcy. The measure also obliges issuers to respect certain anti-whiteness rules and anti-terrorist sanctions.
Senator Elizabeth Warren leads a special forum on the cost of education at the building of the Dirksen Senate office, May 14, 2025, in Washington, DC
Imal Countess / Getty images
What do supporters and criticisms of the law on genius say?
Supporters of the Engineering Act applaud the measure as a leading acting to formalize a key segment of the cryptocurrency industry, offering guarantees to consumers, allowing entry for conventional financial companies and the growth of the digital currency market.
“This opens the valves,” said Catalini. “You will see the entrance by many transmitters. Consumers will all have more choices. This will bring more competition and innovation in payments. ”
The new rules, added Catalini, remove the hay from consumers to discern between good and bad players in the Stablescoin sector, rather opening competition between companies according to the quality of their products.
“It becomes a game of who can offer better cases and the fastest consumers and companies,” said Catalini.
The detractors of the measure, however, say that this is equivalent to a set of low -friendly industry regulations that do not adequately protect consumers and the illegal trading of the Stablecoins police.
“While a strong bill on stables is the best possible result, this weak bill is worse than the bill at all,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-MASS said on Monday.
Critics say that the shortcomings of the bill are illustrated by its inability to respond to the concerns of conflicts of interest raised by Trump’s relations in Stablecoins.
In March, the cryptography firm supported by Trump, World Liberty Financial, published a Stablecoin USD1. An investment company based in Abu Dahbi earlier this month used Stablecoin to make an investment of $ 2 billion in Binance Crypto Exchange, putting Trump’s company in a position to take advantage of the agreement. Trump denied any reprehensible act.
The bill presents a stipulation which “prohibits any member of the Congress or senior executive manager to issue a payment stall product during their stay in the public service”.
However, Warren said, the measure does not insufficiently protect the concerns raised by Trump’s company.
“This bill offers even more opportunities to reward buyers from Trump parts with favors such as pricing, pardons and governmental appointments,” added Warren.
