The GENIUS Act is being sold as a commonsense step toward regulating stablecoins, but Democrats should think twice before offering their support. It’s not just flawed policy – it’s politically unwise.
At its core, GENIUS would lock in a regulatory framework that rewards a handful of well-capitalized, bank-adjacent firms while shutting out new entrants. This isn’t a level playing field. It’s a compliance moat for incumbents. For a party that claims to support innovation, small business, and economic fairness, this is a bad look.
More importantly, Democrats have no reason to carry water for a crypto agenda increasingly defined by Donald Trump. His sudden embrace of crypto isn’t about technological promise – it’s about personal power and financial opportunism. From hawking NFTs to floating the idea of replacing the dollar, Trump isn’t backing innovation – he’s staging a grift. He wants to crash the system and reemerge as a Rothschild-like figure, offering financial lifelines from a Trump-branded crypto empire. Let Republicans explain that.
Backing GENIUS now ties Democrats to a policy that benefits the very actors Trump is elevating – private stablecoin issuers, financial elites, and deep-pocketed donors. It hands the GOP a bipartisan win while anchoring Democrats to the wrong side of the coming debate.
What’s worse, the justification for rushing GENIUS through – namely, the supposed urgency of protecting the U.S. dollar’s reserve currency status – is not grounded in fact. The dollar is not on the brink of collapse. Its role in global markets remains dominant and stable. There is time to do this right. Congress can take up market structure legislation first – establishing clear rules and fair access – and then return to stablecoin oversight with a stronger foundation. There is no crisis here demanding hasty legislation.
Market structure, not GENIUS, is the logical first step. It doesn’t pick winners. It gives every participant in the crypto economy – big and small – the same starting line. It builds the regulatory scaffolding needed for healthy, competitive growth without locking in the advantage of a few early entrants.
If Democrats lead on market structure, they take the high ground. They protect consumers, promote innovation, and sidestep Trump’s crypto theater. GENIUS can wait.
The moment calls for clarity and principle – not a rush to regulation that rewards a few, hurts many, and gives political cover to a president-in-waiting who has no business reshaping American finance.
