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French Hill: Congress has approved a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin and the House passed a 'Clarity Act' for digital assets
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Summary
Representative French Hill said Congress approved a Senate bill creating a U.S. dollar-backed payment stablecoin and that the House passed his Clarity Act to classify digital assets and set broker/bank rules; Hill argued blockchain payments could lower costs and improve fraud protections.
Representative French Hill, the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District, told host Steve that Congress has approved a Senate measure authorizing a U.S. dollar-backed payment stablecoin and that President Trump signed it into law "about 3 weeks ago." Hill described the House-passed Clarity Act, which he authored, as clarifying "what's a commodity, what's a security" for digital assets and said it received support from "78 Democrats" and "over 290" members in the House.
Why it matters: Hill said the measures create a federal framework for digital assets that, in his view, would allow banks and payment providers to operate on blockchain "operating systems" with 24/7 programmable payments, better audit trails and lower costs. "I think you'll see banks adopt blockchain payment operating systems," he said, adding that credit-card companies could follow.
Details and context: Hill said the Clarity Act would set definitions for brokers' interactions and how banks treat digital representations of value on a blockchain, reducing legal uncertainty for financial institutions. He characterized the Senate measure as enabling a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin that could function alongside existing payment rails — "we have debit, we have checking, we have cash ... If you use a payment on a blockchain operating system, it can now be done in this US dollar backed stable coin," he said.
Hill argued the technology could lower costs for merchants and consumers and improve fraud protection and compliance. He said the passage of the Senate bill was a legislative milestone and expressed hope that "this fall" Congress could pass the additional House measures needed to complete the broader package.
What’s next: Hill said he hopes the remaining digital-asset bills will be completed in the coming months; he framed the measures as foundational for a "Web 3" payments infrastructure but did not provide precise implementation timelines or regulatory details beyond the legislative votes he cited.
