The U.S. Senate voted to continue with stablecoin legislation on Monday evening, successfully overcoming a procedural hurdle, setting the stage for its eventual passage.
Key Points:
- Lawmakers agreed to advance a significant piece of stablecoin legislation.
- This recent vote came after a failed attempt to move forward with the bill earlier.
Senators decisively surpassed the 60-vote threshold needed to transition the legislation to a stage of further discussion before the final series of votes to approve it. The House of Representatives is concurrently reviewing its own version of stablecoin legislation, aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins and their issuers in the United States.
Previously, the Senate did not reach the required 60 votes for the bill during a vote on May 8, as Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns about consumer protection and national security provisions. This earlier vote failed on a bipartisan level, with Republicans Josh Hawley and Rand Paul opposing the motion.
Despite the prior setback, industry representatives anticipated a smoother passage on Monday, following significant negotiations over the past week to amend the language of the legislation, even if many of these adjustments appeared minimal.
An individual involved in the negotiations stated that “there’s enough” in the revised bill version to address some Democratic apprehensions earlier on Monday, although lawmakers could have included more robust consumer protection measures.
After these latest modifications, several Democratic senators who initially voted against the cloture, including Senator Ruben Gallego and Senator Mark Warner, signaled they would support it ahead of Monday’s vote.
