'Three Virtual Asset Bills' Stalled in US House...Trump Says 'Opposing Lawmakers Now in Favor'

Some Republicans Voted Against

Criticized as Lacking CBDC Issuance Ban Clause

Bitcoin Temporarily Dropped 3%

US House Opts for Single Vote Review Instead of One-Shot Deliberation on 3 Bills

Possible Standalone Process for 'Stablecoin' Bill

Vote Could Resume as Early as the 16th

The GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation bill promoted by the United States Congress, has been stalled in the House. This comes amid disagreements over whether to process all three virtual asset-related bills, including the GENIUS Act, in a consolidated manner. There is also speculation that President Donald Trump may lead a full-on push to pass the bills, attempting to persuade Republican lawmakers who are opposed.

On the 15th (local time), President Trump stated on Truth Social, "I am in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 House members needed to pass the GENIUS Act," and added, "After a short discussion, they all agreed to support tomorrow morning's rule (procedural vote)." Trump further mentioned that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson attended this meeting by phone. Speaker Johnson posted on X (formerly Twitter), thanking President Trump for persuading lawmakers to help pass the GENIUS Act tomorrow and for assisting in bringing additional virtual asset bills to a vote within days.

This week, the US House designated it as 'Crypto Week,' aiming to pass three bills: the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act to clarify regulatory jurisdiction over virtual assets, and the Anti-CBDC Act, which would ban the Federal Reserve (Fed) from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

However, before the main session, the procedural vote to decide on the processing of the three bills was rejected 196 to 222, so the bills have not entered formal deliberation. The Republican House leadership, who are driving the passage of the bills, tried to deliberate on all three at once, but some Democrats and Republicans opposed. After the vote, Speaker Johnson told reporters, "I hope we can bring it to a vote again soon." Reuters projected, "If the leadership secures enough support, the bills may move forward for deliberation."

The US House is set to resume the main session on the 16th and reintroduce the procedural rule. The most likely scenario is handling the GENIUS Act separately. In this case, there's an expectation that some moderate Democrats may vote in favor. If the procedural vote proceeds, the GENIUS Act could be taken up and voted on as early as that day.

While the market, which had expected an early passage, was disappointed, sentiment calmed as prospects for a re-vote brightened. After the House vote failed, Bitcoin fell to the $116,000 range but later recovered to around $118,000. Domestically, it also briefly plunged to the ₩150,000,000 range before bouncing back to ₩160,000,000.

Stocks related to stablecoins also saw volatility. Circle, which issues the stablecoin USD Coin, saw its stock close down 4.58% at $195.33. Coinbase, the US's largest cryptocurrency exchange, ended down 1.52% at $388.02. In Korea, Kakao Pay, categorized as a stablecoin-related stock, plunged as much as 4.16% to ₩64,500 in morning trading before recovering losses and closing flat. Me2on (-5.9%), Aton (-1.16%), and ITCEN Global (-1.31%) also ended lower.

Reported by Mihyun Cho, mwise@hankyung.com