US House’s Crypto Week debates CLARITY, GENIUS, Anti-CBDC, and FIT21 Acts to regulate stablecoins and crypto markets.
This week, the United States House of Representatives is advancing a wave of crypto legislation after the House Rules Committee voted to advance four key bills to the House floor for debate.
Nevertheless, prominent Democrats, including Rep. Maxine Waters, have emerged as vocal critics, cautioning that the measures could create unprecedented financial instability and facilitate political corruption at the highest levels.
The Crypto Bills were voted on for debate and consideration
The House Rules Committee approved a rule for debate on H.R. 4016 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026), H.R. 3633 (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025), H.R. 1919 (Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act), and S. 1582 (GENIUS Act) on Monday, July 14. The vote was 8–4.
These measures establish the foundation for comprehensive regulatory clarity and stablecoin legislation in the United States, a period that Republicans have dubbed “Crypto Week.”
The official action notice indicates that the measures were the subject of testimony from committees such as Appropriations, Agriculture, and Financial Services.
Representative Maxine Waters Rejects Criticism
However, Rep. Maxine Waters, the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, has issued a warning. Waters criticized the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts in an op-ed for MSNBC that was published on Monday, stating that they were “written by and for the crypto industry.” She cautioned that their passage would “open the floodgates to massive fraud and financial ruin for millions of American families.”
Waters contended that the Securities and Exchange Commission is “handcuffed” by the CLARITY Act, which prevents it from proactively safeguarding individuals against fraud and enables bad actors to exploit regulatory gaps, as evidenced by the collapse of FTX.
The GENIUS Act, which has been passed by the Senate and is currently awaiting a vote in the House, was also criticized by Waters as “no better.” She cited the lack of oversight funding, limited consumer protections, and national security risks associated with the act’s permissiveness toward foreign-backed stablecoin issuers.
Waters asserts that corruption and cryptocurrency bills are inextricably linked
She asserted that both measures intentionally legitimize the president of the United States’ unprecedented crypto corruption. Waters and other Democrats contend that approximately $620 million contributed to President Donald Trump and his family’s wealth through cryptocurrency ventures, as per Bloomberg estimates, indicating a perilous conflict of interest.
Waters and her colleague, Democratic Representative Stephen Lynch, have initiated “Anti-Crypto Corruption Week” in response to the Republican Party’s Crypto Week. The initiative encourages Democrats to oppose the GENIUS Act, CLARITY Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which it considers “three dangerous pieces of crypto legislation.”
Between July 15 and July 18, these acts are scheduled for floor debate and prospective votes.
