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Floor Speech
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Mr. HAGERTY. Mr. President, today, on a bipartisan basis, the Senate will pass its first major digital asset legislation ever--the GENIUS Act. With this bill, the United States is one step closer to becoming the global leader in crypto.
The GENIUS Act establishes a pro-growth regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. This bill will cement U.S. dollar dominance; it will protect customers; it will drive demand for U.S. Treasurys; and it will ensure that digital asset innovation happens in the United States of America, not abroad.
With GENIUS, the value of stablecoins will be pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed one-to-one by cash and short-term U.S. Treasurys. This will provide certainty and confidence for more wide-scale adoption of this transformational technology. By combining the dollar's advantages with the speed and the efficiency of blockchain technology, the GENIUS Act facilitates traditional finance's adoption of crypto and ushers in a new era in payments.
The prospect of faster and cheaper payments will have far-reaching implications for our financial system. Once the GENIUS Act is law, businesses of all sizes and Americans across the country will be able to settle payments nearly instantaneously rather than waiting for days or sometimes even weeks. Put simply, stablecoins are a paradigm- shifting development that can bring our payment system into the 21st century.
This legislation establishes procedures for issuing stablecoins; it designates clear roles for Federal and State regulators; it implements standards for consumer protection; and it includes strong safeguards to deter illicit activity.
Protections show that with the passage of GENIUS, stablecoin issuers could become the world's largest holders of U.S. Treasurys by 2030. Such an outcome would enhance our fiscal resilience, and it will cement the U.S. dollar's dominance as the global reserve currency. The positive implications of this legislation are hard to overstate.
Today will be remembered as an inflection point for innovation in the United States of America.
I would like to thank my colleagues for supporting this legislation. Particularly, I would like to thank Leader John Thune and Senators Scott, Lummis, Gillibrand, and Alsobrooks for helping to get this legislation across the finish line. I would also like to thank our wonderful staff, particularly calling out Luke Pettit, Chris Land, Catherine Fuchs, Bill Rockwood, Nick Larsen, and Chris Toppings, all of whom have put in effort night and day to make certain that this legislation is a success.
I look forward to getting the GENIUS Act signed into law in very short order.
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