Crypto Regulation Bills Advance Following Historic House Vote

The future of three major cryptocurrency regulation bills in Congress remains uncertain following two intense days of internal conflict among House Republicans. Disagreements over the bills’ content and the procedures for advancing them delayed progress significantly.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) devoted nearly 10 hours to unifying his party enough to secure a procedural vote that would greenlight debate on the crypto legislation, alongside a separate Pentagon funding bill. The effort succeeded only after several lawmakers who initially opposed the measure changed their votes.

This procedural win followed a drawn-out voting session, which set a new record for the longest open vote in modern House history — surpassing a previous record set earlier this month.

Even with the rules now approved, uncertainty lingers. The internal divisions revealed over the past 48 hours — between hardline conservatives and moderate Republicans — have sparked serious doubts about whether the GOP-led House can eventually align enough to pass finalized versions of these bills.

The crypto industry, which heavily invested in House campaigns during the last election cycle, is closely watching these developments. Industry leaders had hoped “Crypto Week” would bring decisive action toward a clear regulatory framework. Instead, the chaos has raised concerns about the long-term viability of the legislation.

Adding to the drama, former President Donald Trump stepped in late Tuesday evening. He met with about a dozen conservative lawmakers in the Oval Office and later claimed on Truth Social that they had all agreed to support the rule change. Despite this intervention, new opposition emerged on Wednesday — not only from conservatives, but also from moderates and key committee members who helped draft the bills.

One of the more controversial moves came when House leadership made last-minute changes to merge two of the bills — a decision that drew objections from members of the House Financial Services Committee, according to Politico.

The three proposed bills include:

• The GENIUS Act, which has already passed the Senate;
• The CLARITY Act, currently under House consideration;
• And a third bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Even as the debate rules cleared late Wednesday, the path to enacting these crypto regulations into law remains rocky. With sharp ideological divides still evident, it’s unclear whether final versions of the legislation will make it to the president’s desk — or even survive further votes.