U.S Politicians Can’t Stop Talking About Crypto – Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing

It seems scarcely a day goes by when crypto isn’t being discussed in the House or Senate. Whether it’s passing direct legislation such as the GENIUS Act, proposing crypto-focused additions to the Big Beautiful Bill, or submitting their bills, U.S. lawmakers have whipped themselves into a crypto frenzy. It’s nice to be noticed, but the crypto community can be forgiven for nursing nostalgia for the time when America’s bête noire was Russia and digital assets barely got a look in.

U.S.’ politicians got comfortable with talking about crypto with the shaping of the GENIUS Act. Now that the bill has been passed into law, they’ve set their sights on pushing through further regulatory measures. Should these efforts come to pass, it will be thanks in no small part to the GENIUS Act, which has made crypto an inescapable political talking point.

The Genius of Stablecoin Regulation

The GENIUS Act established a framework for regulating stablecoins, aiming to ensure that only reputable, fully audited, and compliant U.S. companies could participate. Issuers are obliged to maintain 100% reserves, be it U.S. dollars or short-term Treasuries, and back stablecoins on a one-to-one basis. Monthly disclosures and annual audits are also required for issuers with assets exceeding $50 billion.

Some elements of the bill have attracted criticism, such as the fact that it favors banks and limits non-financial firms from issuing stablecoins – potentially stifling competition. Broadly speaking, though, it’s been interpreted as a net good that enables stablecoin innovation to flourish.

As DWF Labs Managing Partner Andrei Grachev summarizes, “The GENIUS Act provides the clarity in regulatory guidelines needed to usher stablecoins from niche and trading use cases into more mainstream institutional infrastructure. Already this year, corporate stablecoin pilots are underway, with Circle’s USDC ballooning nearly 39 %, which means an increase from $44 billion to almost $61 billion since January 2025. This surge clearly shows the demand for digital dollar rails. Without exemptive relief and sandbox frameworks, we risk stalling integration and innovation amid global adoption.”

In that respect, the GENIUS Act has achieved what it set out to do. But the next wave of regulatory measures take aim at a smaller subset of the crypto landscape – U.S. politicians themselves.

Politicians’ Crypto Profits Come Under the Spotlight

The crypto fever infecting U.S. politicians has formed a motif that’s dominated 2025. Perhaps this was inevitable given that in January the country welcomed the first pro-crypto president in its history. Donald Trump may not have been a fan initially, but he’s since seen the light and now his family crypto investments deep. Indeed, it’s these holdings that have given rise to one of the latest pieces of crypto legislation currently being chewed over: the COIN Act.

U.S. politicians are subject to rules governing their ability to profit from investments and to requirements for financial disclosures. Designed to prevent conflicts of interest, these rules include the 2012 STOCK Act that prohibits members of Congress and certain executive branch employees from using nonpublic information gained through their positions for personal financial gain. This is a common-sense rule that few people would oppose.

But what about cryptocurrency, which is less U.S.-centric, and thus whose politicians are less likely to possess insider information? As it stands, U.S. politicians are obliged to disclose cryptocurrency holdings, and plenty of them have done just that. More than a dozen officials are known to be holding crypto including Senator Dave McCormick, who holds millions of dollars in BTC, and Representative Brandon Gill who’s believed to own around $850K of bitcoin.

But a new bill looks to go a step further and prevent public officials, including the President, from profiting through crypto investments. Led by Senator Adam Schiff, the proposed bill is clearly a swipe at Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial fund, which made over $57M last year. But if ratified, the bill would affect all U.S. politicians, who would effectively have no incentive to participate in the crypto market. There’s a high chance the bill will never be approved – unlike the GENIUS Act, most crypto legislation never makes it into law – but even if it only goes as far as the debating chamber, the COIN Act will keep crypto under the spotlight.

U.S. Regulators Ease Up on Crypto Consumers

If there’s one thread that runs through the recent U.S. crypto bills to have made the news, it’s how little they affect ordinary users. The first phase of U.S. crypto regulation directly affected consumers by requiring tighter controls on fiat on- and off-ramps, effectively putting an end to the era of KYC-less crypto purchases through P2P marketplaces, exchanges, and Bitcoin ATMs, before moving on to target ICOs and other token sales. The latest phase of regulation, however, such as the GENIUS Act, has primarily affected businesses and institutions, making little difference to the onchain experience of ordinary crypto users. The proposed COIN Act also fails to directly impact consumers.

For so long as U.S. lawmakers maintain this trend, crypto investors can make hay while the sun shines. No one’s trying to stop them from buying bitcoin or staking ETH anymore. That doesn’t mean there won’t be further speed bumps in the road since regulators will always try to regulate, as is their wont. However, in the present moment, the outlook appears favorable for crypto consumers as America’s politicians engage in a battle over blockchain bills.