{"id":14111,"date":"2025-07-17T07:08:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T05:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=14111"},"modified":"2025-07-17T07:08:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T05:08:35","slug":"historic-house-vote-propels-crypto-legislation-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/historic-house-vote-propels-crypto-legislation-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic House Vote Propels Crypto Legislation Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Update (Thursday, 3:52 am UTC): This article has been revised to include additional details regarding the negotiations surrounding the vote.<\/p>\n

House Republican leaders have struck an agreement to advance three cryptocurrency bills that were stalled in an unprecedented lengthy procedural vote after Republican hardliners resisted compromising on central bank digital currencies.<\/p>\n

A vote to initiate floor debating on the bills was open for more than nine hours \u2014 the longest in the House\u2019s history. The measure ultimately gained approval late on Wednesday with a vote<\/a> of 217-212 in favor.<\/p>\n

A faction of Republican dissenters initially declined to back the vote unless a prohibition on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) was assured to pass, but House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stated<\/a> to reporters<\/a> on Wednesday that Republicans will instead append a CBDC restriction to a must-pass defense funding bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).<\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Tom Emmer<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

House Republican leaders have labeled this week as \u201cCrypto Week\u201d and are aiming to pass a crypto market framework bill known as the CLARITY Act<\/a>, the CBDC-banning Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act<\/a>, and the stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act<\/a> \u2014 the latter of which President Donald Trump aspires to sign before the weekend.<\/p>\n

PunchBowl News reported<\/a> that Scalise mentioned the House would vote independently on the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act as soon as Thursday, but Speaker Mike Johnson noted<\/a> that votes on other bills besides the GENIUS Act could be postponed to Friday or next week.<\/p>\n

CBDC ban a contentious issue<\/h2>\n

The anti-CBDC Republican dissenters also obstructed an earlier resolution on Tuesday for the three cryptocurrency bills.<\/p>\n

One of the Republican dissenters who later altered his vote, Representative Keith Self, previously asserted<\/a> that the GENIUS Act \u201cwill provide a loophole for a CBDC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marjorie Taylor Greene was the lone Republican representative to align with Democrats in opposing the measure.<\/p>\n

\"Congress\"
The final vote of the resolution to debate three cryptocurrency bills. Source: <\/em>C-SPAN<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GENIUS Act, however, stipulates that the bill should not be construed as extending the Federal Reserve\u2019s power to provide services directly to the public, which would encompass a CBDC.<\/p>\n

CBDC ban could be incorporated into essential defense legislation<\/h2>\n

House Republican leaders had assured the party\u2019s hardliners to include a CBDC ban in the NDAA defense appropriations bill, which has consistently been passed.<\/p>\n

Republican Representative Tim Burchett, who initially opposed advancing the bills, stated<\/a> in a video shared on X earlier on Wednesday that the talks had involved relocating the CBDC ban to the NDAA.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>CLARITY Act isn\u2019t flawless, but it\u2019s the legislation US Congress must enact this summer<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf they modify this [the GENIUS Act], they jeopardize the bill if it returns to the Senate, and so they\u2019re considering making some alterations later,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Republican leaders, including Speaker Johnson, indicated that the Senate would not endorse the bills if they were all interconnected in his effort to pass them individually.<\/p>\n

Unprecedentedly lengthy vote held open<\/h2>\n

The vote extended for over nine hours and is the longest in the House\u2019s records, surpassing the previous record established earlier this month during a vote for Trump\u2019s tax and spending megabill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>Bitcoin vs stablecoins showdown approaches as GENIUS Act nears<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n