US Senate Passes GENIUS Act, Sparking Surge in Coinbase and Circle Shares

The US Senate passed the GENIUS Act late Tuesday with a 68-30 vote, marking a significant legislative milestone for the digital asset industry. The bill provides a federal framework allowing private entities to issue stablecoins under strict oversight, mandating full reserve backing and monthly audits for transparency.

The news triggered a sharp rally in the stock prices of key crypto firms. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, saw its shares surge over 22%, trading around $180—a sixfold increase from its $31 IPO price. Coinbase shares gained 14%, making it the top performer in the S&P 500 on Wednesday. The exchange is a co-founder of USDC and shares 50% of the stablecoin's revenue with Circle, which has become an increasingly important income stream; Coinbase's stablecoin-related revenue grew 50% year-over-year in Q1.

Coinbase's Chief Policy Officer, Faryar Shirzad, hailed the vote as "the largest ever bipartisan majority on crypto legislation," noting support from 18 Democrats. He framed the moment as pivotal, comparing it to the early internet in 1990 and predicting a blockchain-driven "payments revolution" that could modernize the US financial system.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where the similar STABLE Act is under consideration. Both bills prohibit consumer stablecoins from offering yield, but they differ on regulatory authority. The Senate's GENIUS Act centralizes oversight with the Treasury Department, granting broad authority to Secretary Scott Bessent, who recently projected the US stablecoin market could grow eightfold to exceed $2 trillion. The House version proposes a more distributed approach involving the Federal Reserve and Comptroller of the Currency. Reconciling these differences and potential linkage to broader market structure legislation could prolong the process before final law.

Shirzad emphasized that regulatory clarity is expected to unlock pent-up investment, accelerating R&D and building "the next generation of the financial system." He expressed hope the Senate's action on stablecoins would be followed by similar progress on comprehensive crypto market structure legislation.