Banking advocacy organizations are pushing back against the OCC’s finalized rules on a stablecoin law, arguing against changes to provisions on yield. A lobbying group for US banks has weighed in on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) recently finalized rules on payment stablecoin issuance and custody, arguing that the regulator’s interpretation went against Congress’ intent. In a Wednesday notice, the American Bankers Association (ABA) said that while the OCC’s final rules implementing the GENIUS Act included “several positive steps,” the banking group remained critical of provisions related to stablecoin yield. The regulator dropped a provision that would have established a presumption that certain third-party arrangements violated the law’s ban on yield payments. “The final rule removes the OCC’s originally proposed safeguards that would have addressed indirect arrangements involving affiliates, exchanges and other distribution partners,” said ABA. “As a result, payment stablecoin issue...
The OCC has finalized rules for stablecoin reserves and redemptions, with Bessent calling the GENIUS Act a “watershed moment for American finance.” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has compared the Trump administration’s landmark stablecoin legislation to banking reforms enacted under President Abraham Lincoln, drawing parallels between two efforts to establish a national framework for American currency more than 160 years apart. In a Wednesday post on X, Bessent hailed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) final rule implementing the GENIUS Act, calling the legislation a “watershed moment in American finance.” Bessent drew a comparison to the National Currency Act of 1863, which established a federal framework for nationally chartered banks to issue currency. He argued that the GENIUS Act serves a similar purpose for payment stablecoins in the digital age. Read more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s final rule covers payment stablecoin issuance and some custody activities, with the GENIUS Act framework taking effect in mid-January. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized rules Wednesday for payment stablecoin reserves, redemptions and related custody activities, implementing the GENIUS Act for entities under its jurisdiction. The final rule states issuers must maintain reserves worth at least as much as their outstanding stablecoins and generally process redemption requests within two business days. The rule applies to national banks, federal savings associations and federal branches and their subsidiaries, as well as nonbank firms that seek or receive federal qualified issuer status, according to the agency’s announcement. It also covers state-qualified issuers when the OCC has regulatory or enforcement authority over them. Read more
The US banking regulator released a 376‑page proposal in February, calling for public comment on rules to implement the stablecoin bill ahead of its January 2027 effective date. US Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said that his agency would have final rules related to the implementation of a payment stablecoin law out by November. Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on Wednesday, the regulator said that following the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) proposal to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, OCC would release finalized rules ahead of the law’s scheduled January 2027 enactment. Gould said that the OCC “will have a final rule out by November” as the agency considered feedback from the crypto industry following the release of its proposed rules in February. He added that he expects the regulator could begin processing applications related to stablecoin issuers starting in 2027. Read more
The stablecoin bill signed into law last year is scheduled to go into effect in January 2027, potentially without finalized regulations from US government agencies. The US Department of the Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking related to the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a bill to establish a framework for payment stablecoins signed into law last year. In a Monday notice, the Treasury Department said that it was opening a proposed rule up to public comment ahead of the January 2027 implementation of the GENIUS Act. Under the terms of the bill, the stablecoin law had been scheduled to go into effect 120 days after agencies finalize rules, or 18 months after it was passed in July 2025, making its effective date Jan. 18, 2027. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the department “welcomes input from stakeholders as [it works] to provide the regulatory certainty businesses need to innovate and grow in America.” Read more
The OCC denied the UK company’s application this week citing AML/CFT risks, despite approving similar charters for digital asset companies in the last year. Update (July 25, 4:39 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a response from Wise. Payments company Wise will to change its strategy for applying for a charter license with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to one “under a GENIUS Act framework,” the legislation to regulate stablecoins in the country. According to a Thursday notice from Wise, the company plans to submit a new application for a national trust bank charter under a GENIUS Act framework. Investment banking group William Blair said that Wise will likely not shift its position on payment stablecoins with the new OCC application, despite being denied a charter to establish a national trust bank on Tuesday. Read more
US regulators failed to finalize implementing regulations by the GENIUS Act’s one-year deadline, issuing 10 proposed rules instead. US regulatory agencies missed Saturday’s rulemaking deadline under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, one year after the law was signed. While several regulatory agencies published proposed rules and collected public feedback during the past year, no final regulations were issued before the deadline. Those agencies include the Department of the Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Board, according to rulemaking trackers by law firm Chapman and crypto investment company Paradigm. Read more
A public comment letter argues that regulated stablecoin issuers need clearer compliance standards to avoid sanctions risks tied to secondary-market activity. Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank and stablecoin infrastructure provider, has submitted a public comment letter supporting the US Treasury Department’s proposed Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and sanctions framework for the GENIUS Act, arguing that the rules largely strike the right balance between compliance and innovation. In a letter published Wednesday, Anchorage said the proposed framework appropriately places AML obligations on regulated stablecoin issuers while urging Treasury to clarify secondary-market sanctions liability, enterprise-wide AML programs and correspondent account requirements. Specifically, Anchorage argued that issuers should not face strict liability for failing to independently identify sanctioned users who transact on secondary markets through their smart contracts. Read more
The Hyperliquid Policy Center and Paradigm say the Treasury’s money-laundering rules for the GENIUS Act are too onerous for stablecoin issuers. The lobbying arm of crypto futures exchange Hyperliquid and venture capital firm Paradigm has urged the US Treasury to revise a proposed anti-money laundering and sanctions rule for stablecoin issuers. The Hyperliquid Policy Center and Paradigm said in a letter on Tuesday that some secondary market obligations should be clarified or narrowed “to avoid unintended consequences for permissionless blockchain infrastructure and the DeFi ecosystem.” The pair said they endorse the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) approach of putting compliance obligations on the “primary market,” such as issuers who have customer information, and taking a “limited approach” to the secondary market, where issuers only see wallets and transactions. Read more
The proposed rule would direct payment stablecoin issuers to establish AML/CFT and sanctions compliance programs, and be able to “block, freeze, and reject” certain transactions. Payment stablecoin issuers in the United States will be required to implement a regime targeting illicit finance under the proposed framework for the GENIUS Act. In a Wednesday notice, the US Treasury Department said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had issued a joint proposed rule to implement provisions of the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025. The proposal would direct payment stablecoin issuers to establish and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) program, maintain a sanctions compliance program, and have the ability to “block, freeze and reject” certain stablecoin transactions. Issuers would be treated as financial institutions for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Read more
FDIC’s proposed rules providing insurance for corporate deposits of stablecoin issuers will not extend to the stablecoin holders, as it would conflict with the GENIUS Act’s text, the FDIC said. The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed new rules to regulate FDIC-supervised stablecoin issuers in accordance with the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which was signed into law nine months ago. In a statement on Tuesday, the FDIC said its board of directors voted to issue a proposal that would set reserve, redemption, capital, risk management and custody standards for stablecoin issuers and insured depository institutions under its supervision. The FDIC insures deposits at more than 4,000 financial institutions and supervises over 2,700 banks and savings associations to maintain stability in the US financial system. Read more