President Trump's crypto moves complicate efforts to pass stablecoin legislation as lawmakers forge ahead to get bills to the finish line

U.S. lawmakers are barreling toward passing legislation for both stablecoins and overall market structure at the behest of President Donald Trump, who has urged legislators and regulators to create a clearer framework for crypto in the U.S. However, they're hitting snags along the way, including from the president himself. 

During a press call on Monday, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, R-Ark., was asked by a reporter about the Trump family's involvement in crypto, which includes a DeFi protocol under development as well as live and tradable memecoins and NFTs. Just today the Trump family announced its new Bitcoin mining interests. 

That engagement "in the memecoin activity and in considering the formation of a stablecoin have made our work more complicated," Hill said. As the Trump family gets further entangled with the industry, many lawmakers are raising questions about potential conflicts of interest.

World Liberty Financial, a DeFi protocol backed by President Trump, said last week it plans to launch a stablecoin . 

On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will vote to amend and vote on a bill to regulate, nicknamed the STABLE Act, while a Senate committee has already passed their own version, dubbed GENIUS earlier in March. Both have differences on how issuers are regulated at the state and federal levels. They also differ in how foreign issuers, such as Tether will be regulated. 

"If you're going to have a stablecoin for use and activity in the U.S. and it's held out as a dollar-backed stablecoin, it ought to comply with the U.S. stablecoin regime," Hill said. The House's STABLE has a provision that a two year window for foreign issuers, such as Tether, to meet certain standards. The House version's two year transition is "more than adequate," Hill added. 

Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., and head of the House Financial Service Committee's digital asset panel, said both bills are "80%" similar . "At the end of the day, I think there's recognition that we want to work with our Senate colleagues to get this across the line," Steil said. 

Timeline

Investment bank TD Cowen's Washington Research Group's Jaret Seiberg says the House Financial Services Committee and later the full House will likely pass STABLE this spring. Later, the full Senate could vote on its stablecoin bill in the next few months, with a final version passing out of both the House and Senate by the summer, Seiberg added in a note on Monday.  

A key part of the bill passing though is how Tether will be treated, Seiberg said. "This matters as the bill is focused on domestic stable coin issuers," Seiberg said. "It remains unclear how the bill could be adjusted to address stable coins issued outside the United States, but sold to U.S. investors."

Lawmakers are also looking to pass an overall market structure bill with plans to hold a hearing on a House version on April 9. Hill said he views that bill and one on stablecoins as "linked." Steil said Trump is interested in having both market structure and stablecoin bills at his desk as soon as possible.

"I view them as peanut butter and jelly and together you have a sandwich," Steil said. "I think they're both essential pieces of the puzzle and I think we're in a position to be able to deliver on that."