US passes first major national crypto legislation

The United States has just made history by passing its first major national law about cryptocurrency. This is a huge moment for the digital currency industry, which has been asking Congress for clear rules for many years. People in the crypto world have spent millions of dollars supporting politicians who agree with them, including former President Donald Trump. The new law focuses on a type of cryptocurrency called stablecoins. Stablecoins are digital coins that are backed by reliable assets, like the US dollar. This means that for every stablecoin, there is a real dollar or another safe asset to support it. The House of Representatives voted to approve the bill on Thursday, and the Senate had already passed it last month. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law very soon. The law is called the Genius Act, and it is one of three new pieces of cryptocurrency legislation being discussed in Washington, all of which are supported by Trump. At first, Trump was against cryptocurrency and even called it a scam. However, his opinion changed as he received more support from the crypto industry and became involved with companies like World Liberty Financial. Supporters of the new law say it will provide clear rules for the growing crypto industry and help the US keep up with new payment technologies. The crypto industry hopes that these rules will encourage more people to use digital currency and help make it more mainstream. The law requires that stablecoins must be backed one-for-one with US dollars or other low-risk assets. This is meant to make stablecoins less risky and more trustworthy. Stablecoins are often used by traders to move money between different types of digital coins. They are popular because their value does not change as much as other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. In recent years, the use of stablecoins has grown very quickly. However, not everyone is happy about the new law. Critics say it could make the financial system riskier by making stablecoins seem safer than they really are. They are also worried that technology companies will start acting like banks without having to follow the same strict rules. If a stablecoin company fails, customers might have a hard time getting their money back. Some people tried to stop the law by arguing that voting for it was the same as supporting Trump's business interests. Despite these concerns, the law received significant support from both Democrats and Republicans. About half of the Democrats and most of the Republicans voted in favor of the bill. Some consumer and advocacy groups wrote a letter to Congress saying that the law is not strong enough and that people might wrongly believe stablecoins are completely safe. They warned that the law could allow more risky digital coins to become popular. Congress was expected to pass all three new crypto laws earlier this week, but there were some unexpected delays. The other two bills have passed the House and are now going to the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority. These bills would prevent the US central bank from creating its own digital currency and would set up rules for other types of cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, there are reports that Trump is working on a new rule that would let people invest their retirement savings in things like crypto, gold, and private companies. This week, the price of Bitcoin reached a new record high, going over $120,000. However, some experts believe that the other two crypto bills will not go much further. One analyst said that passing the stablecoin law took about four to five years and was very difficult, so it might be a long time before any more major crypto laws are passed.