Senate advances crypto regulation bill

The Senate on Monday revived a first-of-its-kind bill to regulate parts of the cryptocurrency industry, after a small number of Democrats who had joined the rest of their party in blocking the measure joined Republicans in allowing it to advance.

- ROBERT JIMISON

The vote was 66-32 to move forward with the legislation, which would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of an existing asset, often the US dollar. Sixteen Democrats joined the majority of Republicans in support, acting over the opposition of most others in their party, who were concerned that President Donald Trump and his family were inappropriately profiting from crypto.

The vote was a victory for the crypto-currency industry, which has made significant advances in Washington with the backing of Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers. It suggested that the measure would have enough support to pass the Senate and potentially make it to Trump's desk in short order. A parallel effort in the House has faced similar backlash from Democrats, who this month blocked a hearing on the legislation but are unlikely to have the votes to prevent it from passing.

In the Senate, a bloc of Democratic supporters had pressed in recent days to include stronger consumer protections and transparency requirements in the legislation, as well as provisions aimed at combating money laundering and terrorism financing.