Today we're talking about the passage of the GENIUS Act. The "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act" — which provides clear rules of the road for stablecoins in the U.S. We cover the law's implications, the recent high-stakes vote in the House of Representatives, and the bipartisan efforts to pass this groundbreaking bill. We also touch on the CLARITY Act — a major new “market structure” bill that would establish a clear regulatory framework for digital asset markets — which the House also passed with bipartisan support and which is now headed to the Senate. Here to separate the signal from the noise are members of the a16z crypto team who had a front-row seat to the action. We've got @milesjennings, a16z crypto's General Counsel and Head of Policy, plus a16z Government Affairs Partners @BenNapier and Michael Reed, who are responsible for liaising with House Republicans and House Democrats, respectively. They share the inside scoop. Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (1:01) Understanding the GENIUS Act (3:56) News Summary: What Happened in the House (5:45) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Contention (7:01) House Vote Drama: Republicans (9:31) House Vote Drama: Democrats (14:28) Winners and Losers (16:01) Decentralized Stablecoins and SEC Involvement (17:49) CLARITY Act and Future Legislation (21:47) Looking Ahead w/ our host @rhhackett 🎙️

Today we're talking about the passage of the GENIUS Act. The "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act" — which provides clear rules of the road for stablecoins in the U.S. We cover the law's implications, the recent high-stakes vote in the House of Representatives, and the bipartisan efforts to pass this groundbreaking bill. We also touch on the CLARITY Act — a major new “market structure” bill that would establish a clear regulatory framework for digital asset markets — which the House also passed with bipartisan support and which is now headed to the Senate. Here to separate the signal from the noise are members of the a16z crypto team who had a front-row seat to the action. We've got @milesjennings, a16z crypto's General Counsel and Head of Policy, plus a16z Government Affairs Partners @BenNapierBen and Michael Reed, who are responsible for liaising with House Republicans and House Democrats, respectively. They share the inside scoop. Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (1:01) Understanding the GENIUS Act (3:56) News Summary: What Happened in the House (5:45) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Contention (7:01) House Vote Drama: Republicans (9:31) House Vote Drama: Democrats (14:28) Winners and Losers (16:01) Decentralized Stablecoins and SEC Involvement (17:49) CLARITY Act and Future Legislation (21:47) Looking Ahead w/ our host @rhhackett 🎙️

Last week was a historic one for crypto and for the United States with the passage of stablecoin legislation, one of just a few pieces of major financial legislation signed into law in the past 25 years. It marks a meaningful step toward making the United States the home for crypto. Today we are excited to announce our seed investment in @CowrieIO, a crypto native advisory firm based in Wyoming that specializes in domestic tax compliance and entity structuring. We believe the United States is on the path to enacting comprehensive crypto legislation, and @DKerr_Cowrie & Cowrie are well positioned to help DAOs and crypto projects meet their regulatory obligations. Learn more about Cowrie and our vision for the future of crypto corporations and foundations below.

With the GENIUS Act celebration done, builders already want to know what's next. The answer is CLARITY – crypto market structure legislation – which also got overwhelming bipartisan support in the House last week. Here's everything you need to get caught up on CLARITY:

Just left the White House after the GENIUS Act signing ceremony. Stablecoins are bringing faster payments, safer dollars, more access, and less friction. Now we have a legal framework. Many people to thank. Historic day. Now it’s time to get the CLARITY Act done.

The GENIUS Act is getting signed today, bringing clear rules of the road for stablecoins. Here's why stablecoins are better money, how they're better for people and businesses, and the mental models you can use to understand them. My master thread on stablecoins. 👇

Clear rules for stablecoins and the road ahead At the White House today, the first piece of U.S. crypto legislation will be signed into law: the GENIUS Act. It provides clear rules for stablecoins. This is a historic moment — not just for crypto, but for the world at large. That’s because stablecoins give us something we’ve never really had before: open money infrastructure. Stablecoins are a better form of money: faster, cheaper, and more global. They cut fees and eliminate intermediaries. They are auditable and programmable. They allow developers to build new kinds of apps that weren’t possible before: low-to-no cost remittances, programmatic micropayments, AI-native transactions, transparent and disintermediated global commerce, and more. Stablecoins give the world access to the dollar, they spread financial freedom, and they ensure that the next generation of financial infrastructure is built on U.S. standards. For too long, innovators in crypto have operated under legal uncertainty. That uncertainty has stifled progress, driven builders offshore, and created a fragmented internet. The GENIUS Act reverses this: it creates clarity for stablecoins and sets us on a path toward broader crypto market structure reforms. This is how the internet moves forward: through clear rule-making. With the GENIUS Act, stablecoins have clear rules, paving the way for better payments, financial products, and an overhaul of the global financial system. Next, we need the same for the rest of the crypto market. The Senate can do this by passing the CLARITY Act, which provides clear rules of the road for the broader crypto industry, opening a path for innovators while also protecting consumers from scams and bad actors. We believe that the U.S. can lead the next era of the internet — the read-write-own era — by enabling open, user-owned protocols instead of the closed, corporate platforms that defined the last one. This legislation lays the foundation for that future. It's the beginning of a new chapter.

The House just made history by passing major legislation on stablecoins (GENIUS Act) and market structure (CLARITY Act) in an overwhelmingly bipartisan way. This is a huge moment for crypto and for all Americans. We’re very close to having comprehensive, proactive rules in place for the first time. Next up: the GENIUS Act goes to the President’s desk for his signature. After that, the Senate should pass the CLARITY Act. We believe passing these laws is the best way to ensure that America remains the world leader in the next era of the internet. Thank you to all the cosponsors of these bills and the incredible supporters on both sides of the aisle in Congress.

1/ Crypto & Blockchain infra today = Internet circa 2005. 🚀 Fast, scalable chains with dirt-cheap txns? This feels like the public cloud explosion all over again. We're finally here!

In retrospect, it will seem bizarre that a few companies controlled how everyone communicated.