Last night, three major crypto bills passed through the House — one heading to President Trump’s desk, and two now on their way to the Senate. Together, they represent the most sweeping crypto legislation we’ve seen in years.
Let’s break it down.
🧠 The GENIUS Act: Stablecoins Get Their Rules
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act creates a comprehensive regulatory framework for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins. It mandates:
1:1 backing of each stablecoin with cash or low-risk liquid reserves (like Treasuries)
State and federal oversight
Required AML controls and regular audits
The bill passed the House with broad bipartisan support — 308–122 — and is expected to be signed into law by President Trump today.
What it means: Private companies like Circle, Ripple (with RLUSD), and even banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America can now legally issue U.S. stablecoins. This is the green light many were waiting for.
🚫 The Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act: Fed Can't Issue a Digital Dollar
This bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from creating a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) over concerns it could lead to surveillance or political abuse.
It narrowly passed the House 218–210, with 216 Republicans and 2 Democrats in favor. Now it heads to the Senate.
What it means: The U.S. government is saying yes to private stablecoins — but no to a government-controlled digital dollar. In effect, we’re privatizing programmable money.
⚖️ The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act: Who Regulates What?
This bill finally draws a (somewhat) clear line between what’s a security and what’s a commodity in the crypto world.
CFTC oversees commodities (Bitcoin, Ethereum — anything sufficiently decentralized).
SEC oversees securities (ICOs, investment contracts, pre-sale tokens, anything with profit expectations driven by a central team).
Stablecoins will have joint oversight for now — but expect this to evolve.
It hasn’t passed the Senate yet, but this is the framework many in the industry have been demanding.
🧵 My Take
Let’s be real — this is the biggest shift in crypto legislation since the early ICO crackdowns.
✅ The GENIUS Act gives legitimacy to stablecoins. That’s huge.
✅ The Anti-CBDC Act prevents government overreach — in theory.
⚠️ But here's the kicker: we just privatized the U.S. dollar.
If Circle or Chase or Apple issues your stablecoin, then the terms of use of your money are now dictated by their user agreements, not by constitutional protections. Think censorship, surveillance, and control — all without needing warrants or subpoenas.
A Fed-controlled CBDC might be scary. But stablecoins controlled by tech giants and megabanks? That might be worse.
Meanwhile, Congress is making all this possible while still refusing to pass privacy protections for digital assets. Ask yourself: Why?
💬 Listener Question: Is XRP a Good Investment Now?
Superfan Ken joined the show to ask a question we get a lot: “Should I invest in XRP?”
Let’s unpack it.
XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger, but it’s tightly associated with Ripple, the private fintech company trying to build the next-generation payment infrastructure — a replacement for SWIFT and cross-border bank transfers.
Ripple's goal? To move money faster, cheaper, and with fewer intermediaries. Think: ACH, but built on blockchain rails. Their clients include banks and financial institutions, and now they’ve launched their own stablecoin: RLUSD.
With the GENIUS Act now clearing the path for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, Ripple is legally positioned to compete head-on with the likes of Circle (USDC) and Tether (USDT). That’s why XRP popped last night — it’s riding the optimism that Ripple’s stablecoin and rails will gain traction.
But here’s the nuance:
XRP ≠ Ripple stock. Owning XRP does not give you equity in Ripple. You're not entitled to revenue, profits, dividends, or voting rights.
Ripple wins ≠ XRP moons. Just because Ripple might sign deals with banks or get more usage of RLUSD doesn’t mean XRP’s price will skyrocket. In fact, RLUSD may run independently of the XRP token entirely.
Ripple’s IPO (if it happens) might offer better long-term upside. If you're bullish on Ripple’s business model, buying its stock (should it go public) gives you real equity exposure — which could be a more direct and profitable play than holding XRP.
XRP may rise during this market discovery phase, as traders speculate on stablecoin infrastructure winners. But once the dust settles and market leaders emerge, tokens that don’t directly benefit from utility, fees, or ecosystem lock-in might plateau — or decline.
Bottom line: XRP is a speculative bet on Ripple’s success. But ironically, if Ripple becomes wildly successful, their stockcould outperform their token — especially if XRP isn’t integral to their business model.
For most new investors, Bitcoin is still the simplest, clearest exposure to the crypto space. If you're looking to speculate in stablecoin infrastructure, I'd be watching Circle’s public performance and which banks move fast on issuing stablecoins under the new law.
As always: Do your homework. Don’t just chase number go up.
🧠 Final Thought
Stablecoins are now legal. CBDCs are (for now) off the table. The market is entering a phase of discovery, and we’re going to see a race between banks, fintechs, and crypto-native projects to become the dominant issuer.
But just remember: The U.S. dollar has never been a product — until now.
We’re handing control of programmable money to private corporations with zero new privacy laws on the books.
Do your homework. Stay vigilant.
Happy HODLing, everyone.
Share this post