Good morning from FarCon in NYC! This week, we cover an updated GENIUS Act, two votes on blockchain bills, and more updates from the Hill, industry, and the courts.
Sponsors of the GENIUS Act introduced an updated bill yesterday, with a Senate floor vote expected before the Memorial Day recess.
The House passed a bill to strengthen U.S. supply chain resiliency, including provisions to encourage the onshore development of critical and emerging technologies, like blockchain.
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Deploying American Blockchains Act, a bill to establish a working group dedicated to promoting U.S. leadership in blockchain.
A House Financial Services subcommittee briefly discussed ways to address debanking at a recent hearing, including two legislative proposals to remove subjective criteria from bank supervision.
After the Federal Reserve Board withdrew crypto guidance last week, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) took to X to urge the Fed to do more to allow innovation in the banking system, describing the Fed’s actions as “lip service.”
A federal district court ordered Treasury to delist Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts from its sanctions list.
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Updated GENIUS Act: Yesterday, Senate GENIUS Act sponsors introduced an updated bill on the Senate floor. In general, the bill’s core framework remains intact, with major updates addressing the certification of a states’ stablecoin regulatory regimes, enforcement against foreign payment stablecoin issuers, and illicit finance.
Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act: On Monday, the House passed a series of bills under suspension of the rules, including the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act, by voice vote. The bill is broadly aimed at strengthening U.S. manufacturing and supply chains, including by promoting the development of critical and emerging technologies, like blockchain, in the U.S.
Deploying American Blockchains Act: On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee marked up various bipartisan bills, including S. 1492, the Deploying Americans Blockchains Act. The committee ordered the bill be reported favorably by voice vote, alongside several other bipartisan bills that were considered en bloc.
HFSC Subcommittee Hearing: On Tuesday, the House Financial Services subcommittee on financial institutions held a hearing focused on legislative proposals to reduce and tailor regulatory burdens, particularly with respect to small to medium sized banks. Two bills noticed for the hearing focused on narrowing banking regulator’s discretionary authority: (1) the FIRM Act and (2) the CAMELS Rating Modernization Act of 2025 (discussion draft).
Senator Lummis Presses FRB: On Friday, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) posted a thread explaining why the Federal Reserve needs to do more to allow innovation in the banking system.
PELOSI Act: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act or “PELOSI Act.” The bill would amend the Ethics in Government Act to prohibit Members of Congress and their spouses from owning, buying, or selling stocks or commodities while serving in office.
HFSC Reconciliation Markup: The House Financial Services Committee marked up reconciliation legislation, which included language to limit funding for the CFPB and fold the PCAOB into the SEC.
Trump Media ETF: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) - the top Democrat on Senate Banking – is asking the SEC to respond to concerns regarding Trump Media and Technology Group’s deal with Crypto.com to launch ETFs later this year.
$TRUMP Meme Coin: Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics requesting an investigation into President Trump’s dinner for top holders of the $TRUMP meme coin.
Treasury & Stablecoins: Treasury published a detailed report on stablecoins and their potential impact on bank deposits, U.S. Treasuries, monetary supply, and existing market structures.
DeFi Letter to Crypto Czar: The DeFi Education Fund is leading a letter to White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, urging the Trump administration to:
(1) Discontinue the DOJ’s campaign to criminalize open-source software development and
(2) End the prosecution of Roman Storm.
You can read and sign the Letter here.
Staking Letter to SEC: The Proof of Stake Alliance submitted an industry coalition letter to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, urging the agency to clarify that staking is a technical process, not a securities activity.
Tokenization Letter to SEC: The Solana Policy Institute, Superstate, Orca Creative, and Lowenstein Sandler LLP submitted a proposed framework to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, asking the agency to exercise its exemptive authority and publish guidance permitting the issuance and trading of equity securities on public blockchain networks.
Bitcoin Mining Letter to Treasury & IRS: The Digital Power Network sent a letter asking the IRS to clarify that mining income should not be taxed until the assets are sold or exchanged.
Coinbase Letter to OGE & SEC: Coinbase sent letters to the Office of Government Ethics and the SEC, urging the recipients to amend and rescind Legal Advisory 22-04, which restricts federal agency employees from working on crypto policy if they own crypto assets.
“To regulate technology, you need to understand it. To understand technology, you need to use it.”
Tornado Cash: On Monday, a federal district court ordered Treasury to delist Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts from its sanctions list, as the Fifth Circuit instructed and plaintiff’s had requested.
Privacy: Coinbase filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to restore limitations to the third-party doctrine and protect Americans’ privacy interests in digital information stored by third-party service providers.
Tuesday - 10AM - HFSC & House Ag: American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: A Blueprint for the 21st Century.
Legislative text for market structure is expected to be released prior to the hearing.
Wednesday - 10AM - HFSC: The Annual Testimony of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the International Financial System.
Thursday - 10AM - Senate Commerce: Hearings to examine winning the AI race, focusing on strengthening United States capabilities in computing and innovation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ID) announced the Senate will vote on stablecoin legislation before Memorial Day.
Last Week’s A: The youngest person to become president was Theodore Roosevelt (42 & 10 months), succeeding William McKinley (assassinated). The youngest president to be elected President was John F. Kennedy (43).
This Week’s Q: Who was the oldest person elected President?
Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.
-GSL
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