Bills to stop Trump's tokens
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Congressional Republicans have two pieces of stablecoin legislation crafted, STABLE and GENIUS, acronyms assumed to be devised — though no one would ever confirm this — as a nod to their party leader's famous construction.
Why it matters: President Donald Trump's commercial extracurriculars are making him look somewhat less politically savvy right now.
The big picture: The Senate would probably have debated and voted on GENIUS, the first bill to move, if not for the actual stablecoin proposed by a company whose profits largely flow back to the Trump family.
- That stablecoin is known as USD1. The company in question is World Liberty Financial.
- And an announcement this month that Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund will use USD1 to make a $2 billion investment in Binance — and the perceived conflicts of interest it creates — has slammed the brakes on bipartisan legislation that Congress has been working on for months.
Between the lines: The deal would not mean that World Liberty and its backers would earn $2 billion in profit.
- But they would get all the yield earned from the cash infusion into USD1. Stablecoin issuers invest these reserves in short-term Treasuries or other highly liquid assets.
- Another advantage — it's a leg up in the stablecoin race for a brand new offering, allowing USD1 to become the world's seventh-largest stablecoin out of the gate.
What we're watching: There's a number of pieces of legislation out there created to block elected officials (always including the president) and, sometimes, appointees as well, from backing or endorsing new cryptocurrencies.
Four we are following:
- HR 1712: The MEME Act, Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.). Introduced in February, it's the first one we saw. As the name suggests, it was created in response to the Trump family's meme coins.
- S. 1620: Companion to Liccardo's bill, from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). This one was released amid stablecoin legislation discussions last week.
- End Crypto Corruption Act: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and minority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). This one was also released last week. Theirs includes members of Congress.
- HR 3314: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). His office tells me that this one names stablecoins, which catches it up to the latest controversy.
What they're saying: "As another famously impeached White House occupant once said, 'the people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook,'" Liccardo said in a statement last week.
Reality check: It's hard to imagine that any of these bills even see discussion in committee, but the topic seems to be making it hard for crypto-leaning Democrats to stick with crypto legislation.
- And the GOP needs some party crossover to get legislation through.
The other side: "Today, Senate Democrats made a deliberate choice to play partisan games," Bo Hines, the executive director of the president's crypto advisory council, wrote on X. "They had the chance to lead—and instead, they obstructed."
