Experts say the legislation could unleash a tidal wave of new stablecoins—and fresh complaints about President Trump's crypto entanglements.

Bitcoin price, XRP and other cryptos have seen big gains this week. The crypto industry notched its first major crypto regulatory win in the U.S. late Thursday.

There would be a great irony if cryptocurrency — which was created in 2008 to provide an alternative to the mainstream financial system that had just failed — led to another economic crash. But that is what a handful of experts fear could happen now that Congress has passed the GENIUS Act, a major piece of crypto legislation.

Ether and other crypto related stocks climbed to end the week as the GENIUS Act heads to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed into law. Bitcoin and its proxies took a breather. The price of ether was last higher by 3.6% at $3,558.68, according to Coin Metrics, trading at highs not seen since January.

US President Trump is expected to sign the GENIUS Act on Friday, the first major crypto legislation passed by Congress, into law. Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Ines Ferré outlines the latest. Check out Yahoo Finance's interview with Congressman Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) just after the House passed the GENIUS Act here.

The GENIUS Act is the first federal legislation to regulate stablecoins, requiring full 1:1 backing, public reserve disclosures, and federal licensing. Stablecoins offer faster, cheaper,

Two of the legislations — the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act — were passed with significant bipartisan support.

Backers of the Genius Act, a potentially landmark bill that could help "stablecoins" go mainstream, say it would greatly speed electronic payments.

A legislative win in Congress, and the promise of more to come, has helped lift the prospects and the wealth of the cryptocurrency industry.