Several antitrust-focused groups are urging Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee to oppose stablecoin legislation the panel is set to consider Thursday.
Sen. Bill Hagerty's (R-Tenn.) GENIUS Act seeks to create a framework for stablecoins, cryptocurrencies tied to another asset to ensure a more stable price. He released newly updated bill text Monday night.
The legislation has garnered support from some Democrats, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Angela Alsobrooks (Md.), who joined as co-sponsors.
However, the Tech Oversight Project, Accountable Tech, American Economic Liberties Project and others argued the bill would "open the door for a few gargantuan Big Tech companies, including Elon Musk's X, to launch their own private currencies."
"For decades, U.S. law has maintined a critical firewall between banking and commerce to prevent corporations from monopolozing both payment systems and the marketplaces they control," they wrote.
"The GENIUS Act would tear down that firewall," they added, suggesting tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook could operate their own stablecoin payment networks.
A fact sheet from Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott's (R-S.C.) office pushed back on this criticism Wednesday, arguing "a payments product is inherently different than banking."
ICYMI: The House voted Tuesday evening to repeal an Internal Revenue Service rule that would have extended certain reporting requirements to the crypto industry, including decentralized finance platforms.
The rollback, which garnered support from all House Republicans and 76 Democrats, follows a similar vote in the Senate last week.
The House version now heads back to the upper chamber for another vote before heading to President Trump's desk.
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