Stablecoin Bill Only a Start, Policy Makers Say at Fintech Event

The US must move beyond stablecoin legislation the Senate passed this month and adopt a full regulatory framework for digital finance, a key House lawmaker told fintech leaders.

A broader crypto market structure bill advancing through the House is also necessary to meet President Donald Trump’s directive to cement US leadership in digital finance, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) said Wednesday at the Financial Technology Association’s annual CEO summit.

“You can’t have a stablecoin bill and declare victory,” said Hill, who leads the House Financial Services Committee. “If you want a ‘Golden Age,’ you need to have both these measures gotten through Congress and have these regulators cranking out the work we’re asking them to do.”

The summit comes amid a flurry of legislative activity on Capitol Hill to set a federal framework for regulating crypto trading, reflecting growing urgency among policy makers to strike a balance between oversight and jurisdictional clarity as digital finance matures.

The Senate on June 17 passed its stablecoin legislation, the “GENIUS Act” (S. 1582), in a 68-30 vote, laying the ground to regulate cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar. Trump urged the House to clear the measure with no delays or changes.

Hill said he looks forward to reconciling what he described as minor differences between the Senate’s legislation and the House’s “STABLE Act” (H.R. 2392), which his committee approved in April.

But Hill is also calling on lawmakers to pass the separate market structure legislation his panel advanced this month, the “CLARITY Act” (H.R. 3633), aimed at sorting out which federal regulators are in charge of various crypto market players. Meanwhile, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee this week released a set of principles that they said will guide the panel as it develops its own comprehensive market structure legislation.

Also speaking at the fintech summit Wednesday, Adrienne Harris, who leads New York’s Department of Financial Services, cautioned against federal overreach on crypto that would sideline state regulators.

New York’s financial regulator is primarily focused on ensuring a “meaningful state pathway still exists,” Harris said, pointing to the dual regulatory system for banking. Shutting out state regulators “would be a real shame,” she said.

New York since 2015 has required any digital asset providers operating in the state to obtain a license and submit to scrutiny from Harris’ department.

“Why would you want to wipe out all that expertise and not leave a meaningful state pathway?” Harris said.