The Stablecoin Act, also known as the Genius Act, has cleared both chambers of Congress and now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. This legislative milestone has sparked a rally in the crypto market, with XRP (Ripple) — the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap — hitting a new all-time high.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Genius Act with a decisive vote of 308 in favor and 122 against. This landmark legislation establishes a legal framework for stablecoins, covering definition, issuance, and disclosure requirements. The Act aims to foster the adoption of stablecoins as a digital dollar while requiring issuers to comply with U.S. anti-money laundering laws and maintain reserves in liquid assets, such as U.S. dollars and short-term Treasury bills.
The regulatory clarity has triggered a broad-based rally in altcoins. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that as of 8:20 a.m., Ethereum and XRP — ranked second and third by market capitalization — were trading at $ 3,490 and $ 3.52, respectively. Over the past 24 hours, Ethereum has gained 4%, while XRP has surged nearly 15%. XRP’s rally is particularly notable, as it broke its previous record high of 3.40 USD set in January.
Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, launched its dollar-pegged stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), in December last year. Signaling its ambitions in the traditional financial sector, the firm has also recently applied for a banking license to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
