US House Clears Procedural Hurdle for Crypto Bills: Here’s Timeline for Final Votes on GENIUS and CLARITY Act

The U.S. House has cleared a major procedural hurdle toward establishing the first-ever stablecoin regulation and clearer crypto regulations. 

This comes after the House voted to advance three crypto-related bills, including the GENIUS Act, the Anti-CBDC bill, and the CLARITY Act. Recall that lawmakers had previously voted 196-223 against the advancement of the three bills. 

As reported earlier, the previous measure saw 13 Republicans join 210 Democrats to vote “Nay” against the bill. However, President Donald Trump urged House members, especially Republicans, to vote “yes” in the final procedural vote and position the United States as the leader in crypto. 

House Clears Procedural Hurdle and Sets New Record

Interestingly, members of Congress passed a final procedural vote on the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and the Anti-CBDC bill, eventually setting the floor votes for each bill alongside the defense spending bill. The bills advanced with 217 yes votes, which surpassed the 212 “Nays.”

Notably, the voting exercise set a new House record by lasting ten hours—the longest in history. Famous pro-crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett disclosed that the vote lasted 10 hours due to the inclusion of crypto. 

Republicans Switch Votes to Clear Procedural Hurdle 

According to Terrett, several Republicans changed their votes multiple times (from no to yes to no) within 24 hours, reflecting intense lobbying behind the scenes. 

Sources told Terrett that they spotted some Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club socializing nearby in anticipation of a late-night vote switch. 

One major factor that helped advance the bills was the commitment to include anti-CBDC language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This provision aims to block the federal government from issuing a CBDC through the Federal Reserve.  

Commenting on the development, Rep. Bryan Steil confirmed that the exercise turned out to be the longest rule vote in the U.S. House. He expressed confidence that the House will pass all three crypto-related legislation to have them signed into law soon. 

“We took a step forward today, even though it took longer than we thought. I think we’re going to get all of this done [all bills passed] by the end of the week,” Steil said. 

Timeline for Final Passage Vote

It is worth noting that yesterday’s vote aimed to establish the rules governing the final order and votes for the individual crypto-related bills. 

Following the advancement, the House is expected to hold a final passage vote for the GENIUS Act today. The vote on the CLARITY Act is tentatively slated for next week. 

However, the anti-CBDC provision vote, which has now been tucked into the NDAA defense-spending bill, has yet to be scheduled.