The U.S. Senate is on the brink of a historic vote this Thursday as lawmakers prepare to decide the fate of the nation’s first comprehensive legislation on stablecoins: a pivotal moment in the federal regulation of digital assets.

According to Politico, the GENIUS Act proposes federal rules for dollar-backed stablecoins to regulate the fast-growing cryptocurrency industry.

Over multiple months of private talks, Senator Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Senator Lummis (R-Wyo.) brought their GENIUS Act before Congress for a crucial procedural vote. Majority Whip Thune (R-S.D.) filed a motion to end debate on Tuesday evening to set up a procedural vote needing at least 60 votes for success.

GENIUS Act Sparks Fierce Political Debate

Lawmakers are taking their strongest step yet to control stablecoins, which are digital tokens tied to regular money, and drive crypto trading worldwide.

The legislation meets major resistance from both sides of the political spectrum. Republican supporters of the proposal need to reconcile party requests and convince Democrats who rejected an older version of the legislation. Senate staffers created the measure privately to gain support from both sides of the aisle after long discussions.

Since Senate Democrats took a break last weekend, the political momentum has grown, according to Senator Kevin Cramer.

On Tuesday, Sen. Lummis built Democratic support by talking with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). She found their meeting useful and trusts Schumer wants to solve the problem with bipartisan cooperation.

Stablecoin Bill Faces GOP Doubts and Delays

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky continues to reject the bill because he thinks it would limit new technological advancements in finance. Sen. Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri expressed his concern this regulation could give digital tech leaders more latitude to create their own stablecoins under the new federal standards.

The support for the bill has weakened at this time. Under current circumstances, Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana chooses not to render a position on the bill until he has seen all the updated legislation.

“They updated everything through transactions across multiple states,” Kennedy said, stressing the need to review the specific arrangements made and changes made to the bill before supporting the current version.

Everyone watches to see if enough lawmakers from both parties can come together to take the GENIUS Act through the procedural vote. The new legislation aims to establish a controlled system of digital money that could mark an important milestone in the nation’s banking laws.