The past two years have seen a House and Senate that were more supportive of Fintech innovation, including advocacy for digital asset development. As Congress switches sides and delivers a historic rebuke to Republicans and the White House, many questions linger about the type of legislation Democrats aim to pursue.
While the CLARITY Act, crypto market infrastructure legislation, failed to gain enough Senate support to pass, Stablecoin law under the GENIUS Act remains one of the biggest victories for the Republican-led Congress. Final rules are slated to take effect on January 18, 2027—15 days after the new Congress is sworn in.
Raj Kamal, Founder and CEO of TransFi, believes the change in Congress will mean a tougher approach to consumer usage of stablecoins and stablecoin yields.
“The more meaningful date for payments is 18 January 2027, when the GENIUS Act takes effect alongside the OCC’s final rule. From then, issuing a payment stablecoin in the US requires a federal or state license, with reserve and redemption standards attached. That framework is already law. For anyone moving money across borders, that carries more weight than the market structure fight. Payment stablecoins get a full federal rulebook in under three months, and the CFTC has already sent a crypto rulemaking to the White House for review while Congress regroups.”
Regarding Bitcoin, Kamal notes that in each of the last three midterms, Bitcoin moved lower in the fourth quarter.
“This year’s market has a different shape. More of the demand now runs through spot ETFs and corporate treasuries, which ties Bitcoin more closely to rates and liquidity. Coming off the weakest October since 2014, I’d give Fed policy and ETF flows far more weight than the vote count.”
