Senate’s 68-30 cloture vote speeds GENIUS Act toward simple majority passage

The Senate voted 68-30 on June 11 to invoke cloture on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, ending the filibuster option and moving the bill toward a final floor vote that will require a simple majority.

Majority Leader John Thune, who controls the chamber’s schedule, started the 30-hour post-cloture clock immediately after the tally. 

Hagerty amendment eases partisan objections

Lawmakers can now debate a substitute amendment negotiated by Senator Bill Hagerty before voting to adopt that language and then the entire measure. This sequence can conclude on either June 16 or June 17, according to Alex Thorn, Galaxy’s head of research.

Hagerty’s substitute removes a proposed ban on in-kind redemptions and clarifies supervisory authority for non-bank issuers, changes Democratic negotiators requested after the bill’s first cloture attempt failed in May. 

The revised text maintained strict requirements for reserve, disclosure, and examination.

Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund praised the vote in separate statements, calling the margin proof of broad support for clear federal rules. Both groups urged senators to maintain momentum through the upcoming amendment and passage votes.

Bill imposes one-to-one backing

The GENIUS Act would require every payment stablecoin to hold high-quality, highly liquid assets equal to the value of tokens in circulation, chiefly short-dated US Treasuries or insured deposits. 

It bars issuers from offering yield on the coins themselves and mandates complete segregation of reserves from operational capital. Issuers must implement Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs, conduct customer due diligence, and file suspicious activity reports.

Entities with more than $10 billion in liabilities are required to obtain a federal charter. At the same time, smaller issuers may operate under state regimes that meet minimum federal standards, subject to joint examinations by federal and state regulators. 

The legislation also directs the Treasury Department to publish quarterly reserve audit templates and grants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission limited enforcement powers over spot-market manipulation.

If the Senate adopts the Hagerty amendment and then passes the bill, the House could act on that text without convening a conference committee, speeding enactment. 

During the 30 post-cloture hours, only germane amendments are in order unless 60 senators agree to waive the rule, and leadership expects few such votes. 

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