- The Senate voted 66-22 late Monday to advance the GENIUS Act, a bill that aims to regulate some cryptocurrencies.
- Democrats are divided in opinion about matters of cryptocurrency.
- Some Democrats who previously voted against a similar bill weeks ago also have seemed to vote for this bill.
A vote held in the U.S. The Senate on Monday, May 19th, 2025 has exposed deep disagreements among the members of the Democratic party over a bill about “stablecoins” or digital money.
In an upsetting move for the progressive Democrats and activists, Democratic senators joined Republicans to move the GENIUS Act forward, allowing it to be debated in the full Senate.
The vote came just weeks after some of those same Democrats had pulled back their support for the bill citing concerns about President Donald Trump using cryptocurrency to hide money or avoid financial rules.
Despite the changes being made to the bill those who oppose the bill argue that it still doesn’t deal with World Liberty Financial, a crypto company attributed to have ties to Trump’s family.
Meanwhile, a supporter of the bill, Senator Mark Warner says it’s important to start regulating digital currencies, even if the bill isn’t perfect.
“We can’t ignore the need for clear rules just because there are concerns about Trump,” Warner said.
Additionally, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who helped draft the bill, said any corruption issues should be dealt with separately.
However, Senator Elizabeth Warren strongly disagreeing with this theory warned that the bill could actually help corruption and put national security and consumer safety at risk.
A competing bill comes about
In response to the proposed bill, Senator Michael Bennet introduced a new bill called the “STABLE GENIUS Act.”, which aims to ban the president, vice president, and members of Congress from creating or promoting digital currencies.
The bill also recommends them to put their own crypto investments into a blind trust, with the inability to control or benefit from them while in office.
This bill comes after the launch by Donald Trump of its meme ($TRUMP) which was sold for billions of dollars in just two days leading up to Trump’s much anticipated inauguration. Melania Trump also launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA shortly after in January 2025 via a social media post.
If this new bill is unlikely to pass anytime soon, it exhibits the division among democrats when it comes to matters of cryptocurrency and how the Democratic Party still struggles to balance new technology with the need for ethical government.