GENIUS Act Stalled in U.S. Stablecoin Legislation…Trump Says He’s Persuading Opponents [Korea Economic Daily Koala]

The U.S. Congress’s push for stablecoin regulation, the 'GENIUS Act,' was stalled in the House of Representatives. This happened as disagreements arose over passing three virtual asset-related bills, including the GENIUS Act, as a package. With U.S. President Donald Trump personally persuading opposing Republican lawmakers in an all-out effort for the bill’s passage, there is speculation that voting could resume.

On the 15th (local time), President Trump announced on Truth Social, "I’m with 11 of the 12 House members needed to pass the 'GENIUS Act' in the Oval Office," adding, "After a brief discussion, they all agreed to support the ‘rule (procedure vote)' tomorrow morning." Trump also noted that Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson participated in the meeting by phone. Speaker Johnson posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Thanks to President Trump for getting involved to ensure we pass the GENIUS Act tomorrow and for reaffirming his support to help us advance additional virtual asset bills in the coming days."

Previously, the House of Representatives designated this week as “Crypto Week,” pursuing the passage of three bills: the GENIUS Act, the Clarity Act to clarify virtual asset regulatory jurisdiction, and an anti-CBDC bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve (Fed) from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). However, before the plenary review, the procedural rule vote to determine how the three bills would be handled failed in a 196-to-222 vote, so the bills did not proceed to full debate. The Republican leadership, leading the bill passage, tried to review all three at once, but opposition arose from some Democrats and Republicans alike.

Shortly after the vote, Speaker Johnson told reporters, "I hope we can bring the measure to a vote again soon." Reuters reported, "If leadership secures sufficient support, there is still a possibility the bills will enter debate."

The House of Representatives plans to reconvene on the 16th (local time) to reintroduce the procedural rule. The currently most likely scenario is to separate the GENIUS Act and process it alone. In this case, it’s expected that some moderate Democrats might vote in favor. If the procedure vote goes ahead, the GENIUS Act could potentially be debated and voted on the same day.

While markets, expecting quick passage, were disappointed, hopes for a revote led to stabilization. Bitcoin, after dropping to the $116,000 range immediately following the House’s vote rejection, has since rebounded to the $118,000 range. In South Korea, the price briefly plunged to around ₩150,000,000 but has since recovered to around ₩160,000,000.

Stocks related to stablecoins experienced a rollercoaster. Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USD Coin, saw its share price drop 4.58% from the previous trading day to $195.33. The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, closed down 1.52% at $388.02.

Kakao Pay, classified domestically as a stablecoin-related stock, briefly fell 4.16% from the previous trading day to ₩64,500 in early morning trading but pared losses to finish flat. Me2on (-5.9%), Aton (-1.16%), and ITCEN Global (-1.31%) all also closed lower.

Reporter Mihyun Cho mwise@hankyung.com