Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal addressed some of the concerns raised by US lawmakers and industry leaders around President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, and how they may affect related legislation.

Speaking at the Consensus conference in Toronto on May 15, Grewal said there had been “hiccups” in Congress since the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, in March. Though Grewal said there were disputes over “substantial issues that need to be addressed” in the bill, he hinted that Trump’s involvement in the industry was a “complicating factor.” 

“The discussion around the president’s support for a certain memecoin or two and other efforts does add a certain level of challenge to the effort to get Democrats and Republicans aligned on the right way to regulate the [spot market], but I have confidence that the Senate and the House are going to sort all that out,” said Grewal.

Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren explicitly called out the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, and its USD1 stablecoin in opposing the GENIUS Act. However, some of the bill’s supporters, like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who proposed an earlier version of the legislation, said they would remove language specifically targeting the president’s crypto ventures.

Related: Democrats seek suspicious activity reports linked to Trump crypto ventures

Whatever the terms for modifications to the bill may be, many lawmakers still expect the Senate to take up another vote in a matter of days. Punchbowl reported on May 15 that Democrats “won major victories” after receiving assurances that some of their concerns around consumer protection, Anti-Money Laundering, and national security safeguards would be addressed.

First stablecoins, then a market structure bill?

The House of Representatives is also considering draft legislation for a digital asset market structure bill, a different iteration of the FIT21 bill that passed the chamber in May 2024. Democratic representatives have similarly pushed back on the legislation, citing “Trump’s crypto corruption.”

“I think we’re gonna learn a lot from the progress we see just in the next few days on stablecoins on the appetite to really tackle all these problems on any schedule that resembles the one that was laid out not long ago by the White House and certain leaders in Congress,” said Grewal.

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Stablecoin regulation is “the next catalyst” for the crypto industry and could lead to unprecedented “appetite from institutional investors,” according to Ash Pampati, head of ecosystem at the Aptos Foundation.

In an interview with Cointelegraph at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Pampati said that “the whole world outside of the United States […] has already jumped onto this [stablecoins],” adding that “the US is […] at the doorstep.”

“I really think about new use cases that can emerge because of the borderless nature of stablecoins, because of the efficiency of the dollar onchain,” he said. “If you’re trying to send money to your friend in Nigeria, why do you have to go through a bunch of hoops?”

Stablecoins are often used to transfer money across borders, as they are easier and cheaper to transfer than traditional finance methods such as wire transfers. They are also used to hedge against fiat currency, which, in emerging markets, can devalue significantly in a short period of time.

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According to a new survey from Fireblocks, Latin America leads all regions in real-world use of stablecoins, with 71% of respondents saying they use the technology for cross-border payments. Half of respondents in the region, which encompasses a number of developing countries, say they expect stablecoins to offer lower transaction costs than traditional finance rails.

“I think you will see an amazing appetite from institutional investors […] we can really think, rethink the fintech space across B2B, B2C with fully onchain rails,” Pampati said.

86% of firms ready for stablecoins

According to Fireblocks’ survey, 86% of respondents say that their company shows “infrastructure readiness.” In other words, their companies are ready to adopt stablecoin. In addition, 75% of respondents say they see clear customer demand for stablecoins.

However, regulation still holds a large role in determining adoption. The survey shows that confidence in stablecoins is rising, not only because of the technology but also because regulatory barriers have fallen.

Agencies around the world have sought to regulate stablecoins. The progress has included the European Union’s MiCA regulation, various acts in the United Arab Emirates, and even the United States’ GENIUS Act, which reports indicate has regained some bipartisan support after a failed May 8 vote.

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