(NewsNation) — The market value of cryptocurrencies is surging after Congress approved the nation’s first major legislation that regulates the digital form of asset.
President Trump, who signed the measure Friday, has vowed to make America the crypto capital of the planet.
“The entire crypto community — for years, you were mocked and dismissed and counted out. You were counted out as little as a year and a half ago, but this signing is a massive validation,” the president said.
Nearly 30% of Americans own cryptocurrency, according to the latest security.org survey — a figure that has nearly doubled in the past three years as crypto grows. Sixty percent of adults familiar with the asset believe the value of cryptocurrencies will increase in value during Trump’s second term in the White House.
So, what does this new legislation — called the GENIUS Act — do?
The law establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins, which are tied to the value of a nation’s currency; creates guidelines for banks and other entities that issue stablecoins; and sets up safeguards for stablecoin holders.
“With stablecoins, these are simply a digital representation of a value that is pegged to a fiat currency — in this case, a U.S. dollar — meaning the value of the dollar is the value of the coin,” explains cyber attorney Andrew Rossow. “That’s designed to keep prices stable, and irrespective of what happens in the marketplace.”
He said a “memecoin,” by contrast, is not tied to a currency and is driven by cultural trends.
Bitcoin was the first decentralized cryptocurrency, which means no single entity — a bank, business or the government — has control over it. It’s a peer-to-peer electronic cash system enabling direct online payments without financial institutions, according to Kraken. Bitcoin uses blockchain technology to facilitate secure and anonymous transactions.
There are two more crypto bills on the radar of federal lawmakers.
One is the Clarity Act, which aims to establish a unified regulatory framework for digital assets — clarifying the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
“What this act is designed to do is provide these foundational definitions that we’ve all been using,” Rossow said. “If you go and look up ‘blockchain,’ you go up and look up ‘digital assets’ or ‘digital commodities,’ you’re going to find a different type of definition, no matter where you’re reading or who you’re talking to. This act starts to create a more universal understanding of what these principles are.”
The Anti CBDC Act would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency. Critics say if they did, it would facilitate financial monitoring or surveillance by the federal government.
Democrats argue these measures would give President Trump the authority to write rules that would financially benefit him and his family. But others see this as just the beginning of making crypto more mainstream.
“You either have to do it today or you have to do it tomorrow, but eventually, you will have to accept cryptocurrency one way or another,” says Armando Pantoja, a crypto and tech futurist.
