US ‘Crypto Week’ post-match round-up: after GENIUS Act crossed finish line

The US House declared July 14-18 would be “Crypto Week” in a bid to advance three crypto-related legislative bills. Lawmakers voted on the Senate’s GENIUS Act, Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act of 2025 and Anti-CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency] Surveillance State Act.

Crypto Week was also the culmination of a mammoth effort to get crypto legislation on to the statute book, which has seen more than 18 crypto-related legislative efforts since Joe Bidenʼs presidency. The GENIUS Act was the first bill to cross the finish line, having passed both the Senate and the House. It has now become law after President Donald Trump signed it off on July 18.

Below, Compliance Corylated breaks down the key details from the week, and next steps for the three legislative proposals.

The crypto industry was out in force last week, lobbying ahead of the key votes. For instance, crypto exchange Coinbase urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act through a campaign that included billboards, a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post and chocolate bar giveaways in Washington, DC, according to the Hill newspaper.

The event looked to be unravelling midweek when several Republican lawmakers blocked progress over a policy dispute. However, following an agreement to add the anti-CBDC Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), all three pieces of legislation were passed by the House by the end of the week.

While the above bills were being debated, Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters announced Anti-Crypto Corruption Week to promote the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act — a law that would have banned the president, vice president, members of Congress and their immediate families from commercial involvement with digital assets. The legislation has not moved forward from the introductory stage, however.

“The lessons of history are simple and stark — exemptions and weak regulation of crypto markets will end in devastating economic destruction,” said Corey Frayer, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), in a statement criticising the current administration’s approach to digital assets.

“Strong regulation informed by experience will provide crypto markets with the opportunity to flourish on their merits, while protecting the American public. Crises are avoidable,” he added.

New stablecoin regime

With a primary goal to regulate stablecoins, the GENIUS Act has made the swiftest progress of legislation proposed since the Biden administration. The Act was introduced in April before passing the Senate in June and gaining bipartisan support of 308–122 vote during Crypto Week.

Congress reportedly debated on the first day whether the other two bills should be added to the GENIUS Act, according to Politico. But it was eventually voted on as a standalone bill on July 17.

Key provisions cover stablecoin issuers and their compliance requirements. The legislation outlines fundamental requirements for stablecoin reserve backing, such as: maintaining a 1:1 ratio for each unit of payment stablecoin issued; publicly disclosing redemption policies; and listing eligible backing assets.

CFAʼs Frayer said: “The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) urged that the GENIUS act should require that stablecoin issuers entering into the payments industry be held to the same rigorous standards as banks.

“Much of what the crypto industry does is indistinguishable from traditional financial activities. It’s unfair to other market players to hold crypto to a different standard.”

Issuers are subject to oversight by federal or state regulators, with stricter federal requirements for those holding over $10 billion. State-regulated issuers must “self-certify” compliance with equivalent federal standards.

For bank stablecoin issuers, they will be supervised by the same regulator as the bank or credit union; and for non-bank issuers with over $10 billion assets, they will be supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Under the regime, issuers are barred from paying interest or yield to stablecoin holders. Use of reserves is also generally restricted to redeeming outstanding stablecoins, except as permitted by regulation.

End of turf war?

Another key piece of legislation passed by the House was the CLARITY Act. If it passes the Senate, the CLARITY Act will end the overlapping jurisdiction between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

With some exemptions, the legislation is granting the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over mainstream cryptocurrencies under the term “digital commodities”. It essentially draws a distinction between “digital commodities” and “securities” based on how decentralised the project is, according to Glenn Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, at the June 10 meeting.

The Act mandates the CFTC as a key rulemaker on registration, asset listing, dual-registrant oversight, and working with the SEC on rules for mixed digital asset transactions.

By amending the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), the CLARITY Act also allows three new entities to be registered and overseen by the CFTC, including digital commodity exchanges, digital commodity dealers and digital commodity brokers.

“[The Act] strengthens financial protections for consumers by require digital commodity exchanges to maintain enough capital to cover both their operational costs and all obligations to customers,” said Democratic congresswoman Andrea Salinas during the Agriculture Committee meeting. “That is an important shift, one that could prevent the next [cryptocurrency] FTX-style implosion from wiping out the funds of countless users.”

Another key provision is federal disclosure exemptions for mature blockchain systems. If a blockchain is classified as “mature” the associated digital commodity will fall under CFTC jurisdiction. The SEC will serve as a gatekeeper, reviewing maturity filings and retaining the right to object.

SEC still here

While the legislation generally reduces the SECʼs jurisdiction, commissioner Hester Peirce warned that “tokenised securities are still securities” and subject to the SEC oversight.  

In a statement on July 9, Peirce explained: “As powerful as blockchain technology is, it does not have magical abilities to transform the nature of the underlying asset. Accordingly, market participants must consider — and adhere to — the federal securities laws when transacting in these instruments.”

The announcement followed Robinhood’s launch of stock tokens in the EU market late last month.

The CLARITY Act is expected to cross the finish line by September 30, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said at the White House on July 18.

Goodbye digital USD

Meanwhile, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act is targeting digital currencies issued by Federal Reserve banks to implement monetary policy. The bill was shoe-horned into the annual “must-pass” military act, the NDAA, on July 17.

The legislation prohibits both the issuance and use of CBDCs by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), including any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other label.

Republican congressman French Hill said in a statement: “We must codify this executive order in law by permanently banning their [CBDCsʼ] development, so a future administration cannot weaponise this technology against Americans. The Biden administration was eager to create a CBDC and was willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a CBDC surveillance-style system.”