Weekly Crypto Regulation Roundup: Trump Signs GENIUS Act and SEC Eyes Tokenization Tweaks

In a landmark week for the U.S. crypto industry, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, following its dramatic rescue from legislative limbo just days earlier.

The move marks a seismic shift in the regulatory framework for digital assets, particularly dollar-backed stablecoins, and indicates a broader push by the Trump administration to bring clarity and control to the sector.

Simultaneously, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering targeted regulatory relief for tokenized securities, and Democratic lawmakers are escalating their opposition, painting the Republican-led crypto agenda as a dangerous concession to industry elites.

Trump’s Crypto Comeback

Tuesday’s initial failure of the GENIUS Act in the House—where it was blocked in a 196–223 vote—sent shockwaves through the crypto industry, threatening to derail what Republicans had dubbed “Crypto Week.”

But by Wednesday night, the tide turned. In a rare Oval Office intervention, President Trump rallied House Republicans, warning that failure to advance digital asset legislation would undermine U.S. innovation and competitiveness. The strategy paid off.

On July 16, a revised procedural motion passed in a 215–211 vote with zero Democratic support, greenlighting the GENIUS Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the CLARITY Act for final House votes.

The GENIUS Act—short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins—had already passed the Senate in June by a bipartisan 68–30 vote.

The bill mandates 1:1 reserve backing for stablecoins, introduces federal licensing pathways for issuers, and firmly places oversight responsibilities in the hands of prudential regulators.

SEC Softens Stance on Tokenization

In a parallel development, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced that the agency is evaluating “innovation exemptions” to ease the regulatory burden on tokenization platforms and digital asset infrastructure providers.

Speaking shortly after the House approved the trio of crypto bills, Atkins told reporters that the SEC is reviewing ways to support novel trading models and infrastructure for tokenized securities.

“We’re at an inflection point where technology is outpacing regulation,” Atkins said. “Rather than stifle innovation, we’re exploring guardrails that allow responsible experimentation, particularly in tokenized equity and real-world asset platforms.”

Such moves hint at a softer, more pragmatic approach from the SEC under mounting political and industry pressure. The idea of a sandbox-like exemption could help address longstanding complaints from blockchain firms that the current regulatory framework, built around 20th-century financial models, is ill-suited to tokenized economies.

Democrats Push Back Hard

Not everyone is on board with this regulatory momentum. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), a longtime critic of the crypto industry, launched a fierce counteroffensive against the GOP’s crypto legislation package.

In a pair of fiery press releases published by the House Financial Services Committee, Waters slammed the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts as reckless and dangerous.

“This bill, which should be called the ‘CALAMITY Act,’ is bad public policy, plain and simple,” she wrote. “It exposes consumers to exploitation by bad actors in the crypto industry, undermines national security, and ignores Donald Trump’s escalating conflicts of interest tied to his personal involvement in cryptocurrency.”

Waters didn’t hold back on President Trump either, accusing him of using public policy to further his crypto-related business interests.

“These bills throw hardworking Americans under the bus,” she said, “putting them at risk for a future financial crisis—all to legitimize Donald Trump’s crypto scams.”

In an even more blistering statement, Waters declared the legislation would “create a casino for crypto billionaires to make more profits,” characterizing the Republican strategy as a gift to “growing crypto crimes.”

What’s Next?

With the GENIUS Act now law, attention turns to how the legislation will be implemented. The Act provides for an 18-month rulemaking and compliance window, during which federal agencies will coordinate with states to finalize supervisory frameworks for stablecoin issuers.

The SEC’s potential regulatory tweaks are still in the consultation phase, but if implemented, they could offer much-needed breathing room for tokenized platforms attempting to scale legally in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Democrats are expected to continue challenging the new regulatory framework, possibly through judicial reviews or state-level resistance.