The GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC Acts: What Bitcoin Investors Need to Know

Since President Donald Trump won the election in November, the price of bitcoin has surged from about $70,000 to roughly $120,000. This massive climb is due to high expectations for looser regulation, along with a crypto-friendly regime in both Congress and in the White House.

And Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, sees even bigger gains ahead. "With policy, macro, and flows aligning, bitcoin may be setting up for a bullish end to the year – where a push toward $200,000 is no longer just a long shot, but a growing probability," he says.

While the realities of finding consensus among lawmakers on cryptocurrency have delayed some progress so far, the passage of the GENIUS Act in late July, which we detail below, shows that the industry is poised to score some major wins.

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And with two other crypto-related bills on lawmakers' radar, it's worth sizing up the legislative landscape. Indeed, these bills have the potential to deliver tremendous impacts to those with exposure to the space, from retail investors to traditional banks to eager fintech and blockchain startups.

If you're wondering what bitcoin investors need to know about the crypto bills in Congress right now, here's a quick rundown.

The GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act, short for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, was passed by legislators in late July and signed into law by President Trump. It marks the first crypto bill to make it over the finish line in the 119th Congress.

This legislation will establish a framework to accelerate the development of stablecoins, which are a type of digital currency designed to minimize volatility by having their value pegged to a more stable secondary asset such as the U.S. dollar.

The goal is the same as legacy currency, in that the value remains constant so that businesses and consumers can transact with confidence. The regulation allows for the privacy that crypto enthusiasts want, as well as the benefits of quick and cheap transfers on digital payment rails.

One challenge stablecoins face is the built-in privacy of cryptocurrencies, which offers a serious stumbling block for regulators and law enforcement professionals.

Take tether, the leading stablecoin that is estimated to have a $160 billion market value. It continues to face regulatory scrutiny regarding loose "Know Your Customer" requirements, which are standard at traditional banks to ensure these institutions are not supporting war criminals or terrorist states.

But the GENIUS Act looks to find a middle ground, proposing "permitted stablecoin issuers" who are subject to state and federal licensing and oversight.

This is expected to bring a measure of accountability to the space without forcing the issuers to follow traditional banking rules or undercutting some of the privacy features that make stablecoins popular to begin with.

Why it matters for bitcoin investors: Adoption and support for stablecoins will make more mainstream consumers and businesses increasingly comfortable with crypto as they look beyond the legacy financial system.

In a recent earnings call, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon admitted his firm has to focus on internal stablecoin development if it wants to fend off competition on payments processing, deposits and even credit card rewards.

The billions of dollars currently held in tether stablecoins seem to indicate these digital assets can and will coexist with minimal impact on the value proposition of bitcoin.

In truth, many investors see bitcoin's volatility as a feature – so long as that volatility continues to generally provide upside, of course.

But continued confidence in digital currencies used for normal consumer and business transactions would be undeniably good for bitcoin, providing yet another proof point that this digital asset is far more than just a fad.

The CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act, also known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, aims to clarify registration requirements and regulatory structures for bitcoin market participants, including digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers.

The hard reality is that a multi-year turf war between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over jurisdictional issues has created headaches for companies that want to get involved with bitcoin or crypto, but don't know who is in charge of enforcement or oversight.

Consider major exchange Coinbase Global (COIN), which even brought a lawsuit to federal courts in an effort to force the SEC to respond to one of its requests after years of foot-dragging.

When a regulator is so disengaged or confused that they ignore market participants rather than answering "yes" or "no" on new products or approaches, it is not a good signal for companies that are looking to innovate or challenge the old way of doing business.

The situation is further complicated by proposals that have been floated to do away with the CFTC altogether and roll the organization into the SEC.

And considering the CFTC has just two commissioners at present, one of whom announced in May she would be leaving the agency, there is an urgent need to figure out who's the boss.

As for the CLARITY Act, the bill passed in the House of Representatives on July 17 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Why it matters for bitcoin investors: Some bitcoin-related entities operate offshore, and sometimes in unscrupulous ways. So, regulatory clarity is a critical step in building investor confidence as well as supporting market structure providers.

In many ways, it's pretty amazing that bitcoin has grown as much as it has in the face of this confusing situation between the SEC and CFTC.

Disruptive technologies often force public policy stakeholders to rethink the ruleset. But bitcoin has existed since 2009 and has had institutional interest on Wall Street for roughly a decade.

So the glass-half-full take on the lack of clarity at present could be that there are great tools, eager market participants and next-gen applications waiting in the wings for regulatory clarity.

And if not, at minimum, the CLARITY Act would provide the long-term path to a regulated and safe environment – but also one that becomes more competitive as startups gain confidence that their next big idea is worth pursuing as it falls within congressionally approved parameters.

Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act

Part of the reason movement on crypto regulation has been hard is that some of these bills get tied together. In fact, some lawmakers tried to include language from the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act into the CLARITY Act that would ban efforts to establish central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the U.S.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act was eventually passed in the House of Representatives on July 17 as a separate piece of legislation that now heads to the Senate.

CBDCs can be thought of as a digital dollar or digital euro, a form of currency that is issued and backed by a local central bank – just like hard currencies.

For some hardline conservatives, this idea of government-sponsored blockchains of citizen transactions veers too close to Big Brother financial surveillance. Hence, the name of the bill includes opposition to both CBDC as well as the "surveillance state."

According to Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-IN), the passage of the bill that he sponsored will "codify President Trump's effort to prevent the development of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, and ensure the United States' digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people, and not the Administrative state."

Why it matters for bitcoin investors: To many bitcoin believers, CBDCs are the antithesis of the cryptocurrency promise. After all, the very prefix "crypto" implies something hidden or secret – and the privacy offered by digital assets that operate outside the traditional financial system has in many ways fueled its appeal.

Many experts have speculated that increased movement or even discussions around CBDCs will drive more folks to bitcoin because of its proven record of privacy, and its global nature that is separate from national politics and central banking.

Time will tell if this provision advances in the Senate, or more importantly, whether the U.S. Federal Reserve or any other Western bank launches a CBDC that catches on.

Even the European Central Bank, which is far more advanced in its quest for a digital currency, hasn't moved beyond initial preparation and stakeholder discussions. That means there's little risk of bitcoin losing its appeal anytime soon to a CBDC.

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