Crypto’s 2025 Agenda in Peril as Opposition Takes Aim at GENIUS Act – Galaxy Warns
Washington’s democratic opposition just put a target on crypto’s breakout year—and Wall Street’s already pretending it saw this coming.
The GENIUS Act, a cornerstone of the industry’s 2025 regulatory roadmap, now faces aggressive pushback that could derail key provisions. Sources say the bill’s treatment of stablecoins and exchange oversight are primary friction points.
Galaxy Digital’s policy team warns the stalemate risks ’legislative paralysis’ during a critical adoption window. Meanwhile, TradFi lobbyists are already circling—nothing unites old money like watching new money squirm.
Timing couldn’t be worse: With institutional inflows hitting record highs, the sector needs regulatory clarity, not another game of political football. But hey—at least the SEC gets to dust off its favorite ’I told you so’ memo.
Democratic pushback
Despite bipartisan momentum, nine Democratic Senators, including five Banking Committee members who had initially supported the bill, released a joint statement on May 3 outlining five unresolved areas: anti-money laundering, foreign issuer limitations, national security protections, financial system safety, and enforcement mechanisms.
Updated provisions in the May 1 draft attempt to respond to those concerns. These include expanded anti-money laundering obligations, a national security waiver mechanism, enhanced oversight of foreign issuers, and penalties of up to $1 million per day for violations.
The Senators warned that they would not support advancing the legislation to the Senate floor without enhancements addressing these issues.
The bill also empowers the Treasury Department to designate compliant foreign jurisdictions and revoke their status with a 90-day transition window.
Structure of oversight and issuer obligations
Under the GENIUS Act, issuers must maintain full, high-quality liquid reserves, typically US Treasuries or insured deposits, backed 1:1 against liabilities.
They are prohibited from offering yield-bearing products and must comply with customer verification, suspicious activity monitoring, and AML program requirements.
Issuers are also subject to federal or federally certified state oversight, depending on their issuance scale. The threshold for federal regulation is the issuance of more than $10 billion in stablecoins.
The bill designates primary federal regulators for the sector, including the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration.
At the same time, the legislation authorizes the Treasury to coordinate interoperability and foreign frameworks. The bill further prohibits non-permitted issuers from entering the US market after a three-year grace period.
While sponsors remain engaged in negotiations, the impasse reveals the difficulty of reconciling innovation policy with national security and financial stability objectives.
Passage of the GENIUS Act now depends on whether revisions can sufficiently address Democratic objections without unraveling bipartisan support secured during committee markup.
