U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the GENIUS Act, a bill that sets forth regulations for stablecoins, marking the first significant legislative measure for the crypto industry in the country.
“I pledged that we would bring back American liberty and leadership and make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world… The Genius Act creates a clear and simple regulatory framework to establish and unleash the immense promise of dollar-backed stablecoins.” –President Trump pic.twitter.com/F46visJFi8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 18, 2025
On July 17, the document was approved by the House of Representatives. On that day, lawmakers passed three bills related to digital assets, including the CLARITY Act and the Anti-CBDC Act.
The GENIUS Act mandates full backing of stablecoins with liquid assets and requires annual audits for issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion. The law prohibits paying interest or other income to stablecoin holders and sets guidelines for foreign companies in the sector.
“The GENIUS Act creates a clear and simple regulatory framework to establish and unleash the immense promise of dollar-backed stablecoins,” Trump stated during the signing ceremony.
The event was attended by several industry representatives, including Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Tether’s head Paolo Ardoino, and Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev.
Incredibly honored and grateful for the invitation to watch @POTUS sign the Genius Act today.
Tether has already brought over 160 billion USDT to over 500 million users worldwide.
Now that President Trump has led the United States to embrace digital assets, we believe we can… pic.twitter.com/94IEnd0FUi
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) July 18, 2025
“You, the entire crypto community, have been mocked and dismissed for years […], but this signing is a significant acknowledgment […] of your hard work and pioneering spirit,” the president addressed them.
The GENIUS Act will come into effect six months from now or 120 days after regulators issue its implementation rules.
According to CoinGecko, Tether’s USDT continues to dominate the stablecoin segment, with its capitalization nearing $161 billion. Circle’s USDC has reached almost $65 billion.
Among the largest stablecoins is USD1, launched by the DeFi platform World Liberty Financial of the Trump family. Critics of the president have repeatedly pointed out a potential conflict of interest due to his ties with crypto projects, including the meme-coin TRUMP.
Earlier, on July 15, the House of Representatives initially failed to pass all three bills related to digital assets.