Bitcoin hits an all-time high as its price surpasses $120,000 for the first time.
In a historic move, the U.S. Senate passed the **Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act)** on June 17, 2025, with a bipartisan vote of 68-30. This marks the first time stablecoin legislation has successfully cleared either chamber of Congress. The Act, which is now pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, aims to establish a federal regulatory framework specifically for payment stablecoins and their issuers.
### Current Status
The House has its own related bill, the **STABLE Act**, and leadership has indicated that for the GENIUS Act to move forward, it might need to be paired with the broader **Digital Asset CLARITY Act**, which assigns most regulatory oversight of digital assets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). House leadership is still working on a timeline to advance the Senate bill, with some expectation of meeting President Trump's August 2025 deadline for signing a final bill.
Significant differences exist between the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act, including issuer formation requirements and regulatory thresholds, which will likely require reconciliation before final legislation.
### Regulatory Framework and Impact
The GENIUS Act clearly designates federal banking agencies, such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for credit unions, as the primary regulators of payment stablecoins, excluding direct regulatory authority by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over stablecoins.
The Act creates a new Stablecoin Certification Review Committee, chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, to oversee stablecoin certification. The membership details of this committee remain unspecified.
The Act limits issuance of payment stablecoins to "permitted payment stablecoin issuers" (PPSIs) that meet federal standards, including requirements that issuers be U.S.-based entities or qualified foreign issuers under certain conditions.
### Potential Impact on Stability and Adoption
By establishing a clear, federally-backed regulatory regime for stablecoins, the GENIUS Act aims to provide greater legal certainty and oversight, reducing risks of issuer insolvency or fraud, which are major factors affecting stablecoin stability. Federal oversight through banking regulators may enhance trust and safety in stablecoins, likely encouraging broader adoption by consumers and businesses due to increased regulatory clarity.
The exclusion of SEC and CFTC regulation may streamline compliance obligations for stablecoin issuers, potentially fostering innovation and competition. Requirements such as a transition from state to federal regulation beyond a $10 billion issuance threshold ensure oversight scales with issuer size, further enhancing systemic stability.
### Cryptocurrency Market Trends
Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin has been on a rollercoaster ride. After surpassing $120,000 for the first time at approximately 11:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday night, it briefly reached an all-time high of over $121,300 before settling at around $120,720. This price increase represents a 2.5% rise in the past 24 hours and a more than 29.3% increase since the start of the year.
Other major cryptocurrencies have also seen significant gains. Binance's BNB, for instance, has surged in the past week, reaching $698, up 5.7% in the past week. Ether, another major crypto token, has surged in the past week, reaching $3042, up more than 18% in the past week.
Notable events in the cryptocurrency world include GameStop's $513 million bitcoin purchase in May and Trump Media and Technology Group's announcement that it would raise $2.5 billion to establish a corporate bitcoin reserve.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs in recent weeks, as Nvidia became the first company to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization.
In summary, the GENIUS Act is poised to significantly influence the stablecoin industry by creating the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework, enhancing the stability, transparency, and trust in stablecoins, which should support their wider adoption. However, its final impact depends on successful passage through the House and potential reconciliation with other legislative proposals.
The current bitcoin price reached an all-time high of over $121,300 after surpassing $120,000, following the U.S. Senate's passage of the GENIUS Act, which aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the realm of finance and technology. This historic move could encourage broader adoption of stablecoins due to increased regulatory clarity and enhanced trust and safety.
