Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rallied to a record high above $123,000 early Monday as Congress kicked off “Crypto Week” in Washington, D.C., with the House of Representatives preparing to vote on three pivotal pieces of crypto legislation.
The surge in bitcoin came alongside strong gains in crypto-linked stocks, with Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and newly public stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) all seeing notable movement. Coinbase and Robinhood both reached record highs, while Circle stock has skyrocketed more than 500% since its June IPO.
The first bill under consideration, the GENIUS Act, would implement the nation’s first federal framework for stablecoins — cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to the dollar. Among the bill’s central provisions, the GENIUS Act limits stablecoin issuance only to regulated issuers and requires that issuers hold reserves of dollars or another similarly liquid asset on a one-to-one basis backing the stablecoins. The legislation was passed in the Senate on June 17.
The act is now set to come up for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, with House Republican leadership looking to send the bill to President Trump as early as the same day.
Also on the agenda is the CLARITY Act, a sweeping proposal aimed at defining regulatory jurisdiction over digital assets. Harder to pass will be the biggest ticket item on the docket this week: The CLARITY Act, a major legislative package, will assign oversight over all digital assets except stablecoins to either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), depending on the asset.
The act defines “digital commodities” as digital assets whose value is tied to the use of blockchain. These assets will fall under the CFTC. Digital assets sold to investors as securities — with investment contracts — will largely be regulated by the SEC.
While 71 Democrats joined Republicans in voting on a similar provision last year that died in the Senate, Republicans may face an uphill battle in getting over the 60-vote threshold from Democrats who are highly skeptical of the Trump family’s deep involvement in the crypto market and want to see ethics provisions added to the bill, according to Politico.
The third measure slated for a vote is the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would prevent the Federal Reserve from creating a “central bank digital currency” (CBDC) and block the Fed Board of Governors from using a CBDC to enact monetary policy.
If the CLARITY and Anti-CBDC acts pass in the House, they will then go to the upper chamber for consideration before reaching President Trump’s desk if the Senate pushes them through.
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