Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) told Breitbart News in an interview that the passage of a stablecoin bill helps to fulfill President Donald Trump’s mission to make America the “cryptocurrency capital of the world.”
Scott spoke to Breitbart News as the Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoin (GENIUS) Act, a bill that aims to provide a clear regulatory framework for the roughly $238 billion stablecoin market.
A stablecoin is a form of cryptocurrency that is pegged to the value of another asset such as the United States dollar.
The legislation’s passage serves as a stark contrast from when the Biden administration hounded the crypto industry, while Donald Trump campaigned on a pro-crypto platform.
Now, the Senate will send the legislation to the House for Congress’s lower chamber to consider.
Scott said the bill works to fulfill Trump’s pro-crypto agenda.
He continued, “We want to make sure that not only do we succeed at President Trump’s agenda of making America the crypto capital of the world, we wanted to make sure that we also kept in mind America’s financial superiority. What we see in the GENIUS Act is that the dollar is the reserve currency for the stablecoins. Fantastic news for making sure that our dollar remains resilient and necessary for the future of our economy, which will include the crypto footprint.”
He said, “It was a stroke of genius. I got to give a lot of credit to my running mates, folks like Bill Haggerty and Cynthia Lummis. Number one, I decided at the beginning of this year as chairman of the Banking Committee, we have to take President Trump’s agenda seriously, and that means making America the cryptocurrency capital of the world.”
He added that the Senate would further cryptocurrency with the creation of the Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee, which is chaired by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a pro-crypto advocate.
“Today the Senate took a critical step toward securing U.S. Dollar dominance and promoting our continued leadership in financial innovation by passing the bipartisan GENIUS Act,” Lummis said in a statement after the bill’s passage.
“The Senate must immediately turn to passing comprehensive market structure legislation which will build on the initial step the Senate has taken today. I want to congratulate Senator Hagerty for this great bipartisan achievement, and thank Leader Thune and Chairman Scott for their commitment to advancing commonsense regulations for digital assets. I look forward to seeing this important legislation get across the finish line,” she added.
Scott said that “giving Bill Hagerty an opportunity to lead on this bill” helped further the advancement of the bill.
He added, “He’s passionate about the industry. He’s well informed about the industry. So I couldn’t think of a better person to lead on the genius act than Bill Hagerty, and then as chairman of the committee, making sure that we brought all those pieces together and worked with enough folks who were passionate about democratization and competition in the marketplace. We’re sitting on a historic day. It’s really exciting.”
The South Carolina senator noted that passing the GENIUS Act would enable faster and cheaper transactions for businesses.
Hagerty on Tuesday noted that passing the GENIUS Act will:
- Establish U.S. dollar dominance
- Revitalize our payment system into the 21st century
- Make U.S. the worldwide leader in stablecoins
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in support of the GENIUS Act, saying:
Recent reporting projects that stablecoins could grow into a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade. That scenario becomes more likely with passage of the GENIUS Act. A thriving stablecoin ecosystem will drive demand from the private sector for US Treasuries, which back stablecoins. This newfound demand could lower government borrowing costs and help rein in the national debt. It could also onramp millions of new users—across the globe—to the dollar-based digital asset economy. It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved:
- The private sector
- The Treasury
- Consumers
These are the fruits of smart, pro-innovation, legislation.
Outside groups have cheered the bill’s passage.
Cody Carbone, the CEO of Digital Chamber, a crypto industry association, wrote, “The bipartisan GENIUS Act is set to pass the Senate today—a major step for U.S. payments. But it’s not done until it’s on President Trump’s desk. The @DigitalChamber stablecoin report shows why this cements dollar dominance. The future is programmable money. Keep pushing.”
The Sentinel Action Fund, a pro-crypto and conservative super PAC, wrote, “This historic bill is the first ever piece of digital asset legislation in our country. Senate Republicans are getting it done.”
“As the product of months of negotiations and hard work from Senator Bill Hagerty and his Senate colleagues, the GENIUS Act is now the first ever digital asset legislation to pass the Senate. This bill will help establish the United States as the crypto capital of the world, but it will also do so much more,” Jessica Anderson, the president of the Sentinel Action Fund, said in a statement. “It will ensure dominance of the U.S. dollar and increase demand for U.S. treasuries. It will protect consumers and prevent illicit activity. It will also bring our payment systems into the 21st century by making transactions easier, cheaper, and faster.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
