The U.S. House of Representatives passed procedural votes on three encryption legislative bills, and the Genius Act is expected to be signed this week.

On July 17 (local time Wednesday), the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed a procedural vote on three important encryption currency bills, paving the way for the votes on the "GENIUS Act," "Clarity Act," and "Anti-CBDC Act." These bills are expected to be voted on again local time Thursday.

Despite being previously announced as "encryption week", the actual voting process was fraught with twists and turns. On Tuesday afternoon local time, the House of Representatives voted 196 against 223 to reject the advancement of these three proposals, with 12 Republicans voting against and expressing concerns over the ambiguity of the "GENIUS Act" regarding CBDC.

9-hour marathon voting sets a record, three bills finally advance.

The latest vote on July 17 lasted for more than 9 hours, setting a new record for the duration of procedural votes in the House of Representatives. Ultimately, around 11 p.m. that night, the House passed Resolution No. 580 with 217 votes in favor and 212 votes against, giving the green light for the consideration of multiple bills. This outcome starkly contrasts with the unexpected failure of the previous day.

After the House Majority Leader announced that the CBDC ban would be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), previous obstacles were resolved. This move ensures that the CBDC ban can pass along with the necessary National Defense Authorization Act, prompting the 8 conservative Republicans who previously obstructed the bill to ultimately change their stance.

According to reports, after the voting was successful, the House Majority Leader stated that the next round of House votes on these encryption cryptocurrency bills will be held on Thursday.

Among the three cryptocurrency-related bills, the GENIUS Act is considered to be progressing the fastest. The bill aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and was passed by the Senate vote last month. The GENIUS Act is expected to be sent to the President for signature before the end of this week.

Other two proposals include the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" ( Clarity Act ), which takes a more comprehensive approach to creating a regulatory framework for digital assets, clarifying the regulatory roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Lawmakers are also considering anti-CBDC legislation aimed at preventing the Federal Reserve from directly issuing central bank digital currency to individuals. Even if the Clarity Act and the anti-CBDC bill pass the House vote, they still need to be voted on in the Senate.

The president personally intervened to promote the legislative process.

According to reports, the deadlock on Wednesday was broken at the last moment of negotiations, with the president personally calling the Speaker of the House's office and expressing satisfaction with the agreement reached.

On the morning of July 15, the President stated on social media, "Happy Encryption Week! The House will soon vote on a significant bill aimed at making the United States the undisputed global leader in digital assets," urging House members to pass the procedural vote.

However, the vote on Tuesday ended in failure. After the vote failed, on the evening of July 15, the President quickly summoned the opposing lawmakers to the White House and announced that he had persuaded them all to support the measure. On July 16, the President tweeted that he met with 11 House members in the Oval Office on July 15 to discuss the legislative rules for the "GENIUS Act" and received unanimous agreement to support the rules the following morning.

The voting process on Wednesday was full of drama. The initial vote ended with 215 votes to 211, and the result was not revealed until the very last moment. A small number of Republicans initially opposed the rule, but after intense exchanges with party leaders, they ultimately changed their votes to "in favor" at the last moment.

However, these staunchly opposed Republicans subsequently withdrew their support in the second "record vote", leaving the chamber to negotiate with party leadership on a potential agreement to advance the legislation, provided that the wording of the CBDC ban is revised to be more explicit.

Hardline Republicans blocking procedural votes on the bill are pushing to merge the market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, with partisan legislation that prohibits central bank digital currencies. Some Republican lawmakers oppose this plan, fearing it could undermine Democratic support for the market structure bill.

After Republican leaders indicated that measures to prohibit CBDCs would be attached to the must-pass defense authorization bill, Republican opponents dropped their opposition. This agreement was reached following a late-night meeting at the Speaker of the House's office.

According to reports, the president called in at the last moment and was briefly introduced to the content of the agreement. "He is very satisfied with it," said a source familiar with the matter.

At 4 a.m. on July 17, there were reports that the Senate Banking Committee was postponing the release of a market structure discussion draft originally scheduled for the following day. Their idea is to wait and observe the movements in the House of Representatives, and then reconsider launching the bill when the situation becomes more "clear."

It is reported that the vote on the CLARITY Act may be postponed until next week.

It is expected that the "GENIUS Act" will be sent to the President for signing within this week, becoming the first major encryption bill passed by Congress, bringing a significant lobbying victory for encryption companies.

Overall, the House's "Crypto Week" has far-reaching implications for the digital asset space. These bills could not only reshape the landscape of the U.S. encryption industry but also establish important foundational precedents for the regulation of future digital assets. As the bills progress and the president intervenes, will the regulatory framework continue to move forward smoothly? Can the U.S. government fulfill its promise of becoming the "Crypto Capital"? The answers to these questions are worth our ongoing attention.