In a move signaling potential progress for crypto regulation, the GENIUS Act, focused on stablecoins, advanced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Senate Banking Committee gave it the nod in a recent vote, pushing the legislation to a full Senate vote, and notably, it garnered bipartisan support.

The vote count demonstrated a clear majority: 18-6. Significantly, five Democrats joined Republicans in the committee, ensuring the bill’s passage with comfortable room to spare.

Among the Democrats who voted in favor of advancing the GENIUS Act were bill co-sponsor Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), as well as Senate Banking Committee members Mark Warner (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), the bill’s sponsor, has indicated his intention to bring the legislation to a full Senate vote by the end of April.

“The Banking Committee’s strong bipartisan passage of the GENIUS Act out of committee brings us one step closer to providing stablecoin issuers with the choice between state and national charters and will secure our nation’s competitive edge in the rapidly evolving digital asset space,” Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), another co-sponsor of the bill, stated in a statement shared with Decrypt.

However, the path wasn’t without its hurdles. During Thursday’s meeting of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), known for her critical stance on crypto, attempted to introduce several amendments to the GENIUS Act, legislation designed to establish a legal structure for nonbank stablecoin issuers in the U.S. economy.

Warren’s proposed amendments aimed to add stricter measures to the bill. One amendment would have blacklisted stablecoin issuers if their tokens were linked to activities involving state enemies or illicit actions like drug trafficking and child pornography. Another amendment sought to broaden the Act’s provisions to encompass crypto exchanges and other third parties dealing with stablecoins.

Ultimately, however, all of her amendments were voted down, largely along party lines.

“Who are we trying to protect, the child pornographers and Iran and North Korea?” Warren questioned at one point, seemingly frustrated after her third amendment was rejected.

“Nobody’s looking to shut this down, no one’s looking to stop innovation,” the senator clarified later in the meeting. “But we do want to try to make this a little cleaner than it is right now.”

Shortly after the amendment discussions, the bill proceeded to a vote and passed without significant opposition.

It’s worth noting that a revised version of the GENIUS Act had been released earlier in the week, ahead of Thursday’s proceedings. While the Act has generally been met with support from industry leaders, some crypto users have pushed back against a new provision that would require stablecoin issuers to have the capability to “seize, freeze, burn, or prevent the transfer” of tokens if legally obligated to comply with orders.

Edited by James Rubin