Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said Thursday she believes senators have reached an agreement on “final language” for Senate stablecoin legislation and expects the bill to head to the floor next week.
“It has been an all-week marathon and sprint at the same time, but I believe we’ve got final, final language,” Lummis told The Hill. “So, members will have a chance to look at it over the weekend again, and I expect procedural votes to begin on Monday.”
She described the recent changes to the GENIUS Act, which would create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, as “very detail-oriented as opposed to major changes.”
When asked if both sides were on board with the new language, Lummis said, “I certainly hope so. I don’t want to be embarrassed next week like I was last week.”
Democrats last week blocked the Senate from moving forward with consideration of the GENIUS Act. The bill was voted down 48-49, falling short of the 60 votes required to bring it closer to final passage. The vote was split almost entirely along party lines, after bipartisan support for the legislation fell apart last week.
A contingent of crypto-friendly Democrats pulled support for the bill after Senate leadership moved to expedite a vote on the legislation last week.
The Democratic senators, several of whom voted to advance the bill out of the Senate Banking Committee in March, argued that Republicans had cut off negotiations prematurely.
Democrats said they still had concerns about provisions on anti-money laundering, national security and a handful of other issues and could not support the current version of the bill.
Some of the measure’s early supporters, however, voiced optimism Wednesday that a deal could be reached soon.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said he’s “hoping for a deal,” noting that there’s “literally just a couple language issues” to iron out.
“I think the bill is much improved,” he added.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Banking subcommittee on digital assets, also said the two sides were “very close” and discussions were “looking very good.”
Democrats are touting “major victories” in stablecoin negotiations, including stronger anti-money laundering, national security and consumer protection provisions, according to a document circulating among pro-crypto Democrats obtained by Punchbowl News.
The document also highlights new restrictions aimed at limiting Big Tech’s ability to take advantage of stablecoins.
The new language bars “non-financial publicly traded companies from issuing a stablecoin unless they can meet strict criteria regarding financial risk, consumer data privacy, and fair business practices.”
“This helps prevent companies like Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from issuing a stablecoin and maintains the separation between banking and commerce,” the document notes.
Updated at 2:33 p.m. EDT
