A new congressional session has begun, and the crypto space is already witnessing significant developments. Senator Bill Hagerty is set to introduce a stablecoin oversight bill on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a new effort to establish a regulatory framework for dollar-denominated tokens in the United States. The proposed legislation, backed by the Senate Banking Committee's chairman, Tim Scott, and the head of its digital assets subcommittee, Cynthia Lummis, aims to define payment stablecoins and outline the procedures for issuing them. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would serve as watchdogs for bank and non-bank issuers, respectively.
State regulators would oversee smaller issuers, while larger firms could seek waivers. The bill, known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation in U.S.
Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, also specifies the reserve requirements for issuers. This new effort comes after previous attempts to pass stablecoin legislation were met with resistance, particularly regarding the distinction between federal and state regulators. It remains to be seen whether Hagerty's plan will garner bipartisan support, given its relatively lighter regulatory approach. The introduction of this bill coincides with a press conference scheduled for later on Tuesday, where President Donald Trump's crypto czar, David Sacks, will outline the congressional leaders' crypto strategy, which is expected to include the stablecoin effort.