The legislation that will be considered during crypto week includes the CLARITY Act, Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the Senate-backed GENIUS Act. These bills aim to regulate crypto markets, restrict the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar, and bring stablecoin clarity. While the GENIUS Act could soon become law, legal experts warn that it may face a delay in progress. Amundi’s CIO also raised concerns that GENIUS could unintentionally weaken the dollar’s global role.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Bitpanda’s Benedikt Faupel praised the MiCA framework for streamlining EU crypto rules but criticized its uneven national implementation. He urged regulators to make certain refinements to ensure regulatory consistency across member states.
Republicans Launch Crypto Week
US Republican House leaders announced a dedicated "Crypto Week" from July 14 to 18, during which three major pieces of digital asset legislation will be considered. This initiative is a critical step in aligning Congress with President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto agenda.
House Finance Committee Chair French Hill, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, and Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that lawmakers will examine a comprehensive crypto market structure bill, a bill regulating stablecoins, and legislation targeting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The crypto legislative trio includes the CLARITY Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the Senate-passed GENIUS Act. The purpose of these bills are to bring regulatory structure, limit federal overreach, and prevent the Federal Reserve from launching a digital dollar. According to Johnson, House Republicans are acting to deliver on Trump’s digital asset agenda, which has been strongly supported by the crypto industry.
The GENIUS Act, in particular, gained a lot of traction over the House's own STABLE Act, despite the latter being passed by the House Finance Committee in May. The Senate’s version was approved with bipartisan backing, and if the House approves it without changes, it could be signed into law by Trump without delay.
However, law firms like Pillsbury Law and Troutman Pepper Locke have pointed out that key differences between the GENIUS and STABLE Acts — especially regarding issuer eligibility and federal versus state oversight — could prompt amendments that would send the bill back to the Senate or force the creation of a joint reconciliation committee.
Alongside stablecoin legislation, the CLARITY Act will define the regulatory roles of the SEC and CFTC, and will require crypto exchanges to register with the CFTC and implement transparency standards. Democrats opposed both the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, specifically due to ethical concerns over the Trump family’s growing crypto ventures.
Finally, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act seeks to ban any effort by the Federal Reserve to issue a digital dollar or offer financial services directly to the public. It was iInitially introduced by Tom Emmer in the previous Congress, the bill has now been reintroduced and passed by the House Finance Committee.
GENIUS Act Could Undermine the Dollar
While excitement is building around crypto week, one of Europe’s largest asset managers Amundi raised concerns about the potential global implications of the US GENIUS Act. It warned that the legislation might trigger unintended disruptions in the international financial system.
Vincent Mortier, Amundi’s chief investment officer, said in a recent interview with Reuters that while the GENIUS Act could appear visionary, it also carries risks that could undermine the long-term dominance of the US dollar. He suggested that the proliferation of fully collateralized dollar-backed stablecoins, as mandated by the Act, could paradoxically create an alternative to the dollar, weakening its role in the global economy. Though increased demand for US Treasury bonds might be a short-term benefit, Mortier warmed that such requirements could send the wrong signal about the dollar’s inherent strength.
Mortier is also concerned about the broader implications of stablecoin issuers taking on banking-like roles. He warned that these entities, operating as “quasi-banks,” could destabilize the global payments system if not properly regulated.
His comments were made after the US Senate passed the GENIUS Act on June 17, moving it forward to the House of Representatives for consideration. The legislation establishes stringent reserve and capital requirements for stablecoin issuers, a move that has been praised by some as a necessary step toward regulatory clarity.
The stablecoin market has already shown rapid growth by doubling in value since early 2023 to exceed $250 billion. Projections by JPMorgan suggest this figure could double again in the coming years, fueled by increasing interest from major tech firms. Companies like Apple, Google, and Elon Musk’s X are all reportedly exploring stablecoin issuance.
On the other hand, supporters of the GENIUS Act believe it could unlock new momentum for the tokenization of real-world assets, or RWAs, by providing legal and regulatory certainty. Abdul Rafay Gadit, a former Standard Chartered executive and founder of ZigChain, said the Act would make it easier to build compliant tokenized ecosystems with on-chain settlements. This, he argues, is essential for sectors like real estate, trade finance, and Islamic finance instruments like sukuk.
Bitpanda Flags MiCA Implementation Gaps
Crypto regulation is becoming a central topic in Europe as well. Benedikt Faupel, head of public affairs at Austrian-based crypto exchange Bitpanda, recently voiced concerns about the uneven implementation of the European Union’s flagship Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
During German Blockchain Week, Faupel acknowledged that MiCA is a major step forward when it comes to providing regulatory clarity and harmonization across the EU’s crypto sector. Before MiCA, crypto companies like Bitpanda had to manage a patchwork of national regulations, holding up to 17 different licenses. With MiCA, the process became a lot more streamlined by reducing the need for multiple approvals across member states.
German blockchain week speakers
Despite the progress, Faupel pointed out that MiCA’s promise of harmonization is still unfulfilled in practice. According to him, regulatory interpretation still varies widely across the bloc, with some local authorities conducting in-depth institutional reviews before granting licenses, while others take a more reactive approach. This inconsistency creates an uneven playing field in the single market. Faupel believes that while such variation is not necessarily a flaw of MiCA itself, it is a foreseeable challenge when regulating a changing sector like crypto.
Faupel also suggested that MiCA could benefit from future refinements, particularly around its reporting requirements. He noticed that some local regulators request large volumes of data without first defining how that data will be used, which can burden crypto companies without necessarily improving oversight. Bitpanda’s public affairs team is working to bridge this gap by maintaining active dialogue with EU lawmakers and national regulators to promote more coherent implementation.
Despite these challenges, Faupel is optimistic about Europe’s crypto future, and he believes that the market is maturing well.
