US Senator Bill Hagerty Proposes GENIUS Act to Establish Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins

US Senator Bill Hagerty presented a bill on Tuesday to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, according to a report from Bloomberg, which Hagerty later confirmed.

Tennessee Republican US Senator Bill Hagerty has proposed a bill to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, Bloomberg reported on March 16.

The senator later confirmed the news on Twitter.

The bill, named the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation in U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, will reportedly define payment stablecoins and outline procedures for their issuance.

According to Hagerty, the bill will "establish a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins." The senator added that he is looking forward to working with relevant parties to get the bill signed into law.

A previous report highlighted a key point of contention in prior attempts at stablecoin legislation in the Senate, which is the division of regulatory authority between federal and state agencies.

The new bill reportedly aims to address this issue by designating the Federal Reserve to oversee large bank issuers, while the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will regulate non-bank issuers with assets over $10 billion.

Moreover, the bill will reportedly levy criminal penalties on issuers that fail to provide monthly audited reports on the status of their fiat reserves.

Stablecoin bill to pass first

On the same day, White House AI and Crypto Advisor David Sacks held his first crypto-focused press conference and outlined the Trump administration’s legislative priorities for the crypto industry. These priorities include two bills: the new market structure framework and Hagerty's GENIUS proposal.

According to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, both bills are expected to move through the Senate within President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. However, Scott indicated that Hagerty's stablecoin proposal “will likely advance first,” as it aims to finally establish some clarity for issuers of U.S.-pegged assets like Tether, Circle and Paxos.

Notably, Republican leaders from different parts of Congress gathered and announced plans to form a bicameral working group to coordinate crypto legislation alongside Sacks and the White House.

Sacks went on to highlight the importance of the U.S. shifting toward digital finance, stating:

"The United States must lead in crypto and digital finance. We cannot cede this ground to China or any other nation. We must harness the potential of crypto to benefit all Americans, ensuring that innovation flourishes and that consumers are protected."

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