Subject: Crypto week in Washington, DC
I have never understood the appeal of cryptocurrency. It's not usable for everyday purchases. Even the vaunted secrecy of crypto transactions is a sham since they are actually traceable. (cf. "Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency," November 15, 2022, by Andy Greenberg."

There is a fundamental difference between cryptocurrencies and meme crypto coins (which are purely speculative) and crypto stablecoins (which are supposed to hold a $1 value and are backed by real assets like USDs and Treasury bills). There is so much money invested in crypto that Congress is getting involved in regulating it. The industry has invested over $100 million in lobbying Congresscritters.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/0...

It Was Supposed to Be ‘Crypto Week’ in Congress. Then It Unraveled.

The crypto industry was headed for a landmark moment in the House with three bills that it helped push going to a vote. But a coalition of ultraconservative House Republicans staged a mutiny.

By David Yaffe-BellanyRobert Jimison and Michael Gold, The New York Times, July 16, 2025

It was supposed to be “crypto week” on Capitol Hill.

Republicans in the House of Representatives had scheduled back-to-back votes this week on three bills supported by the cryptocurrency industry, a suite of legislation with the potential to cement crypto’s status as a cornerstone of mainstream commerce. There were crypto ads in major newspapers, crypto billboards at local bus stops across Washington and even crypto-themed chocolate bars in Capitol vending machines.

Then the industry’s plans started to unravel....

At the heart of the debate was a push by some House Republicans to combine aspects of the separate crypto bills into a single piece of legislation.

In addition to the Genius Act and the Clarity Act, Republicans were scheduled to vote on the bill stopping the Federal Reserve from issuing its own cryptocurrency. Crypto investors have long objected to the creation of a “central bank digital currency,” arguing that it would raise privacy issues. But the threat is purely hypothetical. Nothing along those lines has ever been seriously proposed by a U.S. official....

The Genius Act was closest to fruition. The bill would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of crypto designed to maintain a constant price of $1, and appeared poised to encourage more companies in traditional finance to start experimenting with digital currencies. Last month, the Senate voted 68 to 30 to pass the bill, drawing support from some Democrats. Mr. Trump has vowed to sign it.

The Clarity Act is more expansive, laying out rules for a vast universe of crypto investments. In effect, the legislation would rewrite the rules to prevent the S.E.C. from reviving its crackdown under a future president, according to industry analysts....

The crypto industry is poised to continue fighting. On Tuesday, the industry’s network of super PACs announced that it held over $141 million in cash as the crypto world prepared an “aggressive, targeted strategy” for the 2026 midterms. [end quote]

Here's the Genius Act. It creates the first comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.[1] The bill mandates stringent standards for reserves, audits, and transparency for issuers and establish a dual federal and state supervisory system to mitigate financial stability risks and protect consumers. The stablecoin industry would resemble the pre-Civil War money which was issued by banks before the United States issued its own paper currency beginning in 1861.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Here's the Clarity Act. This bill takes power away from the SEC, which wanted to strictly regulate cryptocurrency as securities, and gives regulatory power to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It's a fair bet that the crypto industry is pushing this to get lax regulation.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/...

https://www.barrons.com/articl...

Genius Act, Clarity Act, Crypto Week, and Why It All Matters
By Elsa Ohlen, Barron's, Updated July 16, 2025

...
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is widely seen as likely to have the biggest effects. It lays out a framework to categorize digital assets as either commodities, to be overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or securities, under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

The third piece of legislation, the Anti Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Surveillance State Act, is meant to address concern that if cryptos become an integral part of the financial system, it could create a scenario where authorities are able to control or monitor the activities of citizens and institutions. Access to how people use digital currencies could potentially provide a lot of data about them.

Bitcoin hit a record high of more than $120,000 earlier this week. A big reason was expectations that these bills will bring about a positive outcome. [end quote]

As of mid-July 2025, the total money invested in cryptocurrencies (global market cap): The total cryptocurrency market capitalization is approximately $3.6 - $3.8 trillion. This number fluctuates daily. The total money invested in crypto stablecoins: The total market capitalization of stablecoins is around $241 - $255 billion.

I would count the stablecoin as a form of M1 (immediately liquid money such as cash and checking accounts) because it is supposed to be a crypto stand-in for the USD. Currently M1 is $18.7 trillion so the stablecoins would be an insignificant part of M1 if they were included -- which they are not.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/se...

The objective of the crypto industry is to maximize its own profit, regardless of the potential danger to the monetary system or potential for fraud and investor losses.

The objective of Congress is supposed to be protection of the public on a Macro and investor level but they are influenced by the crypto lobbyists.

Commercial non-bank companies, like Amazon and Wal-Mart are contemplating issuing their own crypto currencies to reduce the cost of processing credit card payments. I don't see the incentive for a customer to use these because they would be less fungible than USDs. I use Amazon and Costco credit cards because I get cash back.

I don't see the point of the Federal Reserve creating a crypto currency since they already run a fiat currency racket which creates trillions of USDs out of thin air.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/se...

Some people say that the reason to have crypto stable coins is to be able to buy and speculate on cryptocurrencies. This seems like dangerous reasoning to me since I can't even buy a tulip bulb with a bitcoin.

If I wanted to speculate on cryptocurrency I could buy shares in IBIT, the iShares Bitcoin ETF.

The world of cryptocurrency is changing. I think it's yet to be seen whether it will become useful or will cause a financial crisis...or both. But I do think the GENIUS Act should be passed. The others...I'm not so sure.

Wendy