On July 17, 2025, the US House of Representatives passed House Resolution 580 by a narrow 217–212 vote. The rule vote followed nearly 10 hours of delay, the most extended procedural standoff in House history. With this vote, US lawmakers cleared the way for final consideration of three major crypto bills: the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The resolution had failed the previous day after 12 Republican lawmakers objected to its terms. They cited concerns over language in the GENIUS Act that did not explicitly ban a US central bank digital currency (CBDC). House leadership agreed to tie the Anti-CBDC bill to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a must-pass annual defense package, to resolve the impasse. This concession shifted 8 of the 12 Republican holdouts, allowing the measure to advance.
Trump’s Last-Minute Call Breaks the Deadlock
The turning point came late on July 15 when President Donald Trump personally intervened in the dispute. According to reports from Politico, Trump called into House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office and urged the defecting Republicans to support the rule vote. His involvement helped break the gridlock just before the procedural deadline.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer later confirmed that the Anti-CBDC measure would be included in the NDAA. He wrote on X that the attachment would ensure unelected officials could never introduce what he described as a surveillance-based digital currency model similar to China’s.
What These Crypto Bills Aim to Change
The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, proposes national standards for stablecoin issuers. It requires stablecoins used for payments to be fully backed by reserves, licensed under federal law, and subject to regular disclosures and Anti-Money Laundering compliance. The US Senate approved this crypto bill in June by a 68–30 margin. A final vote in the House is expected within days.
The CLARITY Act, or Crypto Legal Access, Regulation, and Transparency for Innovators Act, seeks to resolve whether digital assets are securities or commodities. It would assign tokens that function like investment contracts to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jurisdiction. In contrast, tokens that behave like commodities would fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This structural change is designed to end regulatory overlap but has also triggered concerns from developers and civil rights advocates.
The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act’s third proposal would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail digital dollar or using a CBDC to monitor user behavior. Although the bill lacked guaranteed support as a standalone measure, its inclusion in the NDAA has secured its passage in the weeks ahead.
Why the Anti-CBDC Crypto Bill Was the Dealbreaker
The demand for including the Anti-CBDC bill came from conservative lawmakers who view any form of digital dollar as a threat to personal privacy. Many pointed to China’s digital yuan program, which gives government authorities insight into user transactions and spending behavior. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland stated that a government-controlled digital currency would directly threaten American financial freedoms.
However, critics of the crypto bill argued that banning a CBDC outright could tie the hands of US policymakers at a time when other global powers are moving ahead with digital currencies. Central banks in China, Nigeria, and the European Union have all begun pilot programs or issued early versions of CBDCs. By comparison, the US has not formally decided on a digital dollar. Treasury officials have previously said that any such development would require full congressional approval, not agency action alone.
Despite the compromise, some Republicans remained opposed. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reiterated her resistance to any measure she believes resembles “a mark of the beast system.”
SEC Faces Power Shift as Congress Redraws Crypto Oversight Map
The SEC, which would lose jurisdiction over some digital assets under the CLARITY Act, has not formally responded to the legislation. Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler had consistently opposed any effort to limit the agency’s crypto oversight powers. Under his leadership, the SEC aggressively acted against major platforms like Coinbase and Ripple.
The GENIUS Act is now scheduled for a final vote in the House on July 18. If passed, it would become the first major US crypto bill to clear both chambers of Congress. The CLARITY Act will be brought to the floor early next week. As for the Anti-CBDC measure, its inclusion in the NDAA virtually guarantees its passage later this summer, once the defense package moves through final votes.
At the moment, only the GENIUS Act has already passed the Senate. The CLARITY Act and Anti-CBDC bill will require separate Senate approval if they do not ride through the NDAA process.
