Stablecoin Showdown: Congress Races Against May Deadline to Pass Crypto Bill

Lawmakers scramble to push through stablecoin legislation—will political gridlock kill the deal? Again?

Behind closed doors, DC’s favorite pastime (besides insider trading): debating whether algorithmic stablecoins should be strangled in their crib or just heavily monitored.

Banking lobbyists already circling like vultures—because nothing unites Congress faster than Wall Street’s checkbook.

Will Democrats drop the resistance?

Last Thursday, the bill failed to pass after falling short of the  60 votes required to advance it. Several pro-crypto Democrats defected, bringing the count to 48 votes. 

The holdout, led by Senator Ruben Gallego and Elizabeth Warren, cited several reservations, including President Donald Trump’s conflict of interest in the space and corruption concerns. 

However, there has been a reported push for a consensus to advance the bill, and there was remarkable progress, too, noted Galaxy head of research, Alex Thorn. 

“Progress being made on the GENIUS act, more to come the phone calls may have worked.”

Likewise, former Fox Business crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett reiterated the bipartisan push. According to her sources, the final vote on the bill may happen before Memorial Day recess (26-30 May). 

“Senate leadership is discussing the procedural path forward to resume consideration of the GENIUS Act, including the amendment process and a motion to reconsider.” 

However, she cautioned that the deadline may not be honored if the Democrats’ agreement isn’t achieved by then.

For his part, Majority Leader John Thune was noncommittal on whether the final vote WOULD be achieved before the 26th of May. Per a Politico report, he said, 

“They’re, I think, hearing from Democrats. So we’ll see how committed everybody is to getting a result and if they can get whatever differences they think they had worked out.”

The bill seeks to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and their issuers in the U.S.

If passed, the bill would mark a historic milestone for the crypto sector. It could also strengthen the U.S., which lags behind regions like the E.U. in regulation.

On Polymarket, the odds of passing in 2025 exceed 80%, reflecting strong market confidence.

Source: Polymarket