A Trump-backed bill to regulate cryptocurrencies failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday after Republicans couldn't find enough Democrats to overlook the president's growing crypto empire and go along with it.
The so-called GENIUS Act would provide a federal framework for stablecoins, a type of crypto pegged to other digital assets like the U.S. dollar. The industry spent tens of millions of dollars on pro-crypto candidates in the 2024 election who would support such a bill.
It had bipartisan support and was on track to advance until Trump's crypto conflicts caused nine Democrats to put the brakes on it. They cited a New York Times investigation of a crypto business affiliated with Trump and his three sons and its $2 billion deal with a foreign government-backed venture fund. The business, World Liberty Financial, has begun offering stablecoins that could generate tens of millions of dollars a year in revenue for the Trumps and their business partners, The Times reported. One of their partners is Steve Witkoff, Trump's longtime friend and Middle East special envoy.
Democrats said they also wanted the bill to address “anti-money laundering, foreign issuers, and national security," CNBC reported. Those who objected to it included Sens. Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner, Raphael Warnock, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Catherine Cortez Masto, Andy Kim, Ben Ray Luján, John Hickenlooper and Adam Schiff.
After the 48-49 vote, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted that lawmakers "missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand dollar dominance and U.S. influence in financial innovation."
"The world is watching while American lawmakers twiddle their thumbs," he added. "Senators who voted to stonewall U.S. ingenuity today face a simple choice: Either step up and lead or watch digital asset innovation move offshore."
The outcome likely means that Trump, who embraced crypto on the campaign trail in 2024 after criticizing it as "not money" in 2019, won't be able to deliver the industry their landmark legislation this summer as expected.
In the meantime, Trump continues promoting his own crypto ventures. On Monday, he hawked his $TRUMP meme coin and an upcoming gala that offers the top coin holders access to him.
Those with the biggest balances can attend an “intimate private dinner” with Trump at his golf club outside Washington, D.C., this month and tour the White House, according to the coin's website. The news prompted the coin to surge over 50% and boosted its total market value to $2.7 billion, NBC News reported. The Trump Organization and its affiliates control most of the token supply, according to the website.
Around 54,000 wallets have bought the coin since the promotion began, according to CNBC. Bloomberg reported that more than half of the top holders used foreign exchanges, suggesting they are based outside the U.S.
The coin hasn't been profitable for most of the 2 million accounts that have purchased it since it launched in January. Around 764,000 have lost money, while 58 accounts made more than $10 million apiece, media outlets reported on Wednesday. Melania Trump announced her own meme coin a few days after her husband's.
The president's crypto interests extend into other investments. Trump Media & Technology needs his administration's approval to move forward with its plan to offer bitcoin exchange-traded funds as part of Truth.Fi, its new financial services firm.
Trump started delivering on his pro-crypto pledges soon after he was inaugurated. He issued an executive order and created a task force to boost crypto, appointed a crypto advocate as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission — the regulatory agency that oversees crypto — and proposed a "strategic crypto reserve" for the government to purchase and hold digital tokens.
His administration has stripped federal agencies charged with investigating crypto firms and enforcing rules, and it has dropped Biden-era cases against top crypto firms including Coinbase, Ripple and others.
He has dismissed ethical concerns, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he started his crypto business "long before the election."
"I haven't even looked," Trump said when asked if he's profiting from it.
“Look, if I own stock in something and I do a good job, and the stock market goes up, I guess I’m profiting,” he added.
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