U.S. Congress Prioritizes Stablecoin Oversight

The U.S. Congress’ opening priority for the crypto industry is to quickly finish a stablecoin oversight bill. The House of Representatives released the text of its version on Wednesday, following a recent committee approval of its Senate counterpart.

The House version, introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil, the head of the House Financial Services Committee’s crypto panel, alongside Rep. French Hill, the Republican chair of the overall committee, governs how companies can issue dollar-denominated digital tokens.

Steil noted that the new version will “close the gap” between the House efforts and the Senate version of the bill during a conference appearance on Wednesday.

The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE Act) is described by Hill as a strong continuation of previous work on digital assets in the last Congress.

The Senate Banking Committee has already advanced its version of the legislation with a strong bipartisan vote, which now moves to consideration on the Senate floor. Rep. Tom Emmer, House majority whip and a longtime crypto advocate, remarked that the two bills have “some minor differences that I’m sure can be ironed out.”

On the same day, Emmer reintroduced his Securities Clarity Act, aimed at defining how a crypto asset may fit within the securities law framework. This bill was part of last year’s Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT 21) and was introduced alongside Democratic Rep. Darren Soto.

Emmer, Steil, and numerous lawmakers engaged in crypto initiatives attended the DC Blockchain Summit, a crypto policy event hosted by the Digital Chamber. Many expressed hopes for the completion of the stablecoin effort by August.

As the conference concluded, the Senate prepared for a second vote on a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the IRS’ 2024 regulation governing decentralized finance (DeFi) brokers. Both the Senate and House previously passed the resolution, which U.S. President Donald Trump is anticipated to sign, but a procedural rule necessitates another Senate vote on tax-related matters.