King Dollar

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed concerns that the dollar's recent declines threaten its status as the world's key currency, saying the "strong dollar policy" is about ensuring the US dollar remains the reserve currency over the long term.

King Dollar

Treasury official confirmed that Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the July 17-18 meeting near Durban, South Africa instead of Bessent. The United States is due to head the G20 next year, which it helped found in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008.

A key piece of cryptocurrency legislation, the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoin), was recently passed by the House and sent to President Trump

President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law today, July 18, 2025. 

Congress has officially passed major cryptocurrency legislation for the first time.

Key Points

• Stablecoin Regulation Bill (GENIUS Act)

  • Passed both the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support.

  • Creates a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins—cryptocurrencies tied to assets like the US dollar.

  • The bill is set to head to President Trump's desk for signature and would empower federal agencies to oversee this rapidly growing market.

    
    

• Other Crypto Bills

  
  

  • The House also passed two more bills as part of a trio of new crypto laws:

    • Digital Asset Market Clarity Act: Clarifies the distinction between cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and outlines the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in overseeing these assets.

    • Anti-CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) Surveillance Act: Bars the Federal Reserve from creating or issuing its own central bank digital currency.

      
      

    Congressional Votes and Outcome

    
    

    • The GENIUS Act passed the House with a 308-122 vote and had already cleared the Senate 68-30, making its enactment imminent.

    • The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed the House with a 294-134 vote.

    • The Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act passed the House with a narrow 218-210 margin.

      
      

    Implications

    
    

    • This is a landmark moment for the US crypto industry, offering much-sought legitimacy and clear regulation for stablecoins and other digital assets.

    • The stablecoin bill, in particular, is expected to set consumer safeguards, establish oversight, and potentially fuel expansion in the digital currency market.

      
      

    In summary: only the stablecoin regulation bill has fully passed both chambers of Congress and awaits the President’s signature. The other two bills, though passed by the House, still need Senate approval to become law

    
    

    Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 or the CLARITY Act of 2025

    
    

    This bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities, defined by the bill as digital assets that rely upon a blockchain for their value.

    
    

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission must generally regulate digital commodities transactions, including digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers. To qualify for trade on an exchange (1) a digital commodity’s blockchain must be mature, or on a blockchain system that has achieved decentralized control as defined by the bill; or (2) the issuer of the digital commodity must file certain reports. The bill establishes requirements for trade monitoring, recordkeeping, and the commingling of customer assets.  

    
    

    The bill exempts digital commodities on mature blockchains (and digital commodities on blockchains expected to mature within certain timeframes) from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration requirements if annual sales fall under a certain amount and other requirements are met. The bill provides the SEC with jurisdiction over digital commodity activities and transactions engaged in by certain brokers and dealers on alternative trading systems and by national securities exchanges. 

    
    

    Digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act for anti-money laundering and related purposes.

    The bill also sets forth requirements for alternative trading systems, previously issued digital commodities, and provisional registration until the bill is implemented.  

Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins of 2025 or the GENIUS Act of 2025

This bill establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins (digital assets which an issuer must redeem for a fixed monetary value).

Under the bill, only permitted issuers may issue a payment stablecoin in the United States. Permitted issuers must be a subsidiary of an insured depository institution, a federal-qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuer, or a state-qualified payment stablecoin issuer. Permitted issuers must be regulated by the appropriate federal or state regulator. Permitted issuers may choose federal or state regulation; however, state regulation is limited to those with a stablecoin issuance of $10 billion or less.

Permitted issuers must maintain reserves backing the stablecoin on a one-to-one basis using U.S. currency or other similarly liquid assets, as specified. Permitted issuers must also publicly disclose their redemption policy and publish monthly the details of their reserves.

The bill sets forth requirements for (1) reusing reserves; (2) providing safekeeping services for stablecoins; and (3) supervisory, examination, and enforcement authority.

In a bankruptcy insolvency proceeding involving a payment stablecoin issuer, stablecoin holders have priority over all other claims. 

Under the bill, permitted payment stablecoins are not considered securities under securities law. However, permitted issuers are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act for anti-money laundering and related purposes.

The Federal Reserve must create and implement agreements with other jurisdictions that similarly regulate stablecoins for the purpose of facilitating international transactions and interoperability with U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins issued overseas.

This week, the most notable legislative development relevant to Coinbase and the wider crypto industry in the U.S. was the Senate's passage of the GENIUS Act on June 17, 2025. This bill establishes federal regulations for US dollar-pegged stablecoins, marking the first time such guardrails have been set at the federal level. While the GENIUS Act is not specific to Coinbase, it is highly significant for the ecosystem in which Coinbase operates, as stablecoins are a major product on crypto platforms.

Additionally, recent commentary from late June indicates that the House committees moved the CLARITY Act to the House floor, a bill aimed at clarifying the U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets, which could have direct long-term implications for platforms like Coinbase. However, as of this week, the main development that passed a chamber of Congress is the GENIUS Act, not comprehensive exchange-focused legislation.

• The GENIUS Act's passage represents a significant legislative victory for the digital asset industry but primarily targets stablecoin issuers and related providers, not exchanges in the broader sense.

• The CLARITY Act is still awaiting a full House vote, and there is no confirmation it has become law or directly applies to Coinbase as of this week.

• There have been no new, Coinbase-specific federal laws enacted this week, although there is ongoing litigation and state action (such as Oregon's ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase, which is not new legislation).

  
  

If you are seeking the PDF text of specific legislation focused on Coinbase or federal crypto exchanges that was passed this week, such a document does not appear in the official record within the search results. The GENIUS Act text as passed by the Senate may be available through congressional records, but it does not mention Coinbase specifically.

First major regulatory framework for stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by pegging their price to the U.S. dollar or highly liquid assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and bills.

The newly passed U.S. crypto bills—including the GENIUS Act—establish the first major regulatory framework for stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by pegging their price to the U.S. dollar or highly liquid assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and bills.

• Stablecoin reserves: The legislation requires that stablecoins be backed 1:1 by cash or U.S. Treasury securities. Only approved issuers, such as banks or certain licensed non-banks, may issue regulated stablecoins under these rules.

• Consumer protections: The new laws impose guardrails on stablecoin issuers, insisting on adequate reserves and transparency to ensure user funds are protected and that stablecoins remain stable.

• Legitimizing use of Treasuries: By mandating U.S. Treasury securities as eligible backing, the law creates direct, structural demand for Treasury bills and bonds from stablecoin issuers. This integration could increase the buyer base for government debt and potentially enhance liquidity in Treasury markets.

  
  

Support for the U.S. Dollar

• Reinforcing the dollar’s role: With stablecoins explicitly tied to the U.S. dollar and fully backed by U.S. Treasury assets or cash, the legislation strengthens the dollar's centrality in the digital economy, maintaining it as the unit of account in global crypto transactions.

• Boosting confidence: Regulatory clarity reduces the risk of unstable stablecoins or offshore issuers undermining the dollar's credibility. This increases both domestic and international confidence in digital dollars as a reliable means of exchange.

• Expanding global reach: Stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasury securities can facilitate dollar transactions in markets with less access to traditional banking, broadening the global footprint of the dollar in both digital and real economies.

Impact on U.S. Treasury Markets

The use of Treasuries as stablecoin collateral introduces new dynamics:

• Increased institutional demand: Stablecoin growth may lead to more purchases of Treasury bills and bonds as collateral, especially from cryptocurrency firms and global investors seeking regulatory-compliant digital dollars.

• Improved liquidity and transparency: Keyword features of blockchain—such as immutable, real-time tracking—could improve transparency and reduce settlement risk in Treasury markets, especially as the tokenization of Treasuries advances.

• Risk of new volatility: While the overall digital asset market is still modest compared to traditional finance, tokenized Treasuries and crypto demand could become sources of volatility in times of financial stress, especially if there are rapid moves between crypto and Treasury assets.

  
  

Prohibition of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

In response to concerns over surveillance and government control, the bills also prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, ensuring that the private sector (regulated stablecoin issuers) will drive digital dollar innovation. This approach keeps the U.S. dollar at the center of digital payments without a direct, government-issued CBDC.

 Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins, “Develop a rational regulatory framework for crypto asset markets”

Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins, announced his plan to “develop a rational regulatory framework for crypto asset markets” during his keynote address at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Tokenization.Under this proposed framework, the SEC will update its regulations to include and accommodate on-chain cryptocurrency in the traditional financial market. The SEC’s new approach to crypto is emblematic of the Trump administration’s goal to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet,” as the President promised during his 2024 campaign.

A central theme of Atkins’s address was the need for the SEC to modernize its regulatory framework to keep pace with innovation. The Chairman criticized the Commission’s previous approaches, which he described as either a “head-in-the-sand” tactic by ignoring crypto assets or a “shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later” method relying on ad hoc enforcement actions rather than clear rulemaking. Under his leadership, Atkins committed to establishing “clear rules of the road” for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets, aiming to protect investors while encouraging responsible innovation. To that end, Atkins said that the SEC’s rulemaking and interpretive authorities would set standards tailored to the unique characteristics of crypto assets. In the short-term, however, Atkins suggested that the SEC may provide conditional exemptive relief for market participants while pursuing notice-and-comment rulemaking.

The Chairman also pledged to develop “clear and sensible” guidelines for the distribution of crypto assets that qualify as securities or investment contracts. Acknowledging that current registration forms and disclosure requirements are often ill-suited for crypto assets, Atkins called for new guidance, exemptions, and safe harbors to facilitate compliant offerings.

Second, Atkins expressed support for expanding options for how crypto assets are held, including self-custody solutions for advisers and funds. He suggested that the “special purpose broker-dealer” framework, in which a broker-dealer has a narrowly defined role focused on handling digital asset securities under specific regulatory conditions, should be repealed and replaced with a more practical regime.

Finally, Atkins advocated for allowing broker-dealers to offer a wider range of products, including both securities and non-securities, and for modernizing the regulatory regime for alternative trading systems to better accommodate crypto assets.

SEC Crypto 2.0

The Chairman’s address, and the creation of a new Crypto Task Force, signals a significant shift in the SEC’s approach to crypto assets. The Crypto Task Force, created by then-Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda in January of this year, is led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. In a press release titled, “SEC Crypto 2.0,” the task force is described as being “dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.” While the SEC’s previous crypto unit was contained mainly within the Division of Enforcement, the new task force will collaborate with the public and divisions throughout the SEC to “help the Commission draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously.”

This policy shift has already led the SEC to dismiss lawsuits against crypto companies. Most recently, on May 29, 2025, the SEC announced that it had agreed to dismiss its suit against Binance Holdings Limited, et al. This dismissal followed Binance’s agreement to pay a $4.3 billion fine as part of a plea deal in a criminal case brought by the Department of Justice, as well as $2.7 billion to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and $3.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury Department. Additionally, the company’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, served a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance.

In a post on X following the SEC’s announcement, Binance called the dismissal “a huge win for crypto.” The post also thanked Chairman Atkins and the Trump administration “for pushing back against regulation by enforcement,” and noted that “U.S. innovation is back on track — and it’s just the beginning.”

Both the Crypto Task Force and the Chairman’s recent remarks emphasize this administration’s willingness to adapt the rules for cryptocurrency and its eagerness to encourage new market activities and investment opportunities within the U.S. With so much changing in the regulation and enforcement in this fast growing area of the U.S. markets, it will be important for market participants to work closely with counsel to ensure the most recent guidelines are being followed.

Akin Investments, Charleston