Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has signed into law new cryptocurrency legislation that advocates say represents a watershed moment for the industry.

Speaking from the White House on Friday, the US president hailed the GENIUS Act, which establishes regulations and consumer protections for stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is linked to a fixed currency or commodity.

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The signing capped what Trump dubbed “crypto week”, as a total of three cryptocurrency bills made their way through the US legislature.

In the end, only the legislation related to stablecoin landed on Trump’s desk

Two other bills — one that would bar government-issued digital currencies and another that would more clearly define regulatory classifications for cryptocurrency products — were sent from the US House of Representatives on Thursday to the Senate, where they have yet to undergo a vote.

Still, Trump hailed Friday’s bill-signing ceremony as “a giant step to cement the American dominance of global finance and crypto technology”.

Industry advocates have said bills like the GENIUS Act will help to make cryptocurrency more mainstream in the US. They say a lack of regulatory clarity has hindered wider public adoption of digital currencies.

But critics have voiced concern about the Trump family’s close ties to the crypto industry, including its stake in World Liberty Financial, a company that launched its own stablecoin, USD1.

They highlight the fact that the recent flurry of Republican-led legislation does not address whether a president can hold interests in cryptocurrency, leaving an opening for corruption.

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Democrats also criticised the GENIUS Act for creating an inadequate regulatory framework that could pose longterm financial risks and open the door for major corporations to issue their own private cryptocurrencies.

Still, speaking on Friday, Trump pledged to continue his embrace of the crypto industry, including by furthering his pitch to create a national “crypto reserve”.

Trump also framed his administration as a hard pivot away from the policies of former President Joe Biden, who took a more aggressive approach to investigating cryptocurrency-related crimes.

Since taking office for a second term in January, Trump ended several Biden-era cryptocurrency investigations and suspended a special Department of Justice enforcement team.

Some of the cryptocurrency leaders previously investigated by the US government were in the audience at the White House.

“You’ve come a long way since the Biden administration, when they had no idea what you were all talking about, and half of you were under arrest for no reason whatsoever,” Trump told them at the signing ceremony.

He addressed certain industry leaders by name, including Brian Armstrong, Chris Pavlovski and twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, all of whom faced probes from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations under Biden.

“Let me say the entire crypto community, for years you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump said.

“You were counted out as little as a year and a half ago, but this signing is a massive validation.”