House eyes Wednesday re-vote on crypto bills after procedural defeat

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to retry a key procedural vote on Wednesday, July 16, that would allow floor debate on a trio of major cryptocurrency bills, after GOP hardliners derailed the effort on Tuesday.

As reported by Politico, Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed late Tuesday that Republicans are working to resolve internal disagreements following the 196-222 vote failure, which halted momentum on the long-awaited legislative package. 

The proposed bills include the GENIUS Act, which aims to regulate stablecoins; the CLARITY Act, which would establish rules to determine whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities; and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would prohibit the issuance of a U.S. central bank digital currency.

Speaking to reporters after the failed vote, Johnson said Republicans were “still having conversations, answering questions for people,” and expressed confidence that the rule could pass on a second attempt. He emphasized that the crypto bills remain a “priority of the White House, the Senate, and the House.”

However, internal Republican divisions remain a major obstacle. Some conservative lawmakers are pushing leadership to bundle all three bills into a single legislative package to increase pressure on the Senate, which recently passed the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support. 

But Johnson pushed back on that idea Tuesday, saying, “We have to do them in succession.” A senior Republican echoed that view, warning that tying the bills together would trigger a host of issues in the Senate, where a combined package would likely be dead on arrival.

Democratic opposition also played a role in Tuesday’s failure. Lawmakers cited concerns about weak consumer protections and potential conflicts of interest tied to former President Trump’s crypto-related ventures, including World Liberty Financial.

The procedural breakdown came as a surprise during what was billed as “Crypto Week” on Capitol Hill, and the fallout was immediate. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $117,000, while Coinbase and Circle saw their shares fall by over 4% and 7%, respectively.

Market participants had been watching the House vote closely, especially after the Senate passed the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support last month. The industry remains hopeful that at least the stablecoin bill will advance, though more contentious proposals,  such as the Anti-CBDC Act, may face steeper resistance in the Senate.