The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced a final rule on Wednesday implementing the GENIUS Act, completing the main federal framework for payment stablecoins in the United States. The rule sets requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers and for foreign payment stablecoin issuers that fall under the OCC's jurisdiction, and it also covers certain custody activities carried out by OCC-supervised entities. Both the rule and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act itself take effect on 18 January 2027, giving issuers just under three months to prepare. The text addresses every regulation the OCC is required to write under the Act other than those covering Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and sanctions matters, which will follow in a separate rulemaking coordinated with the Treasury Department.
Reserve backing, redemption and risk management
Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould framed the package as a foundation rather than a finish line. "We are providing a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation, with strong standards for reserve backing, redemption, and risk management," he said in the OCC's announcement, adding that the agency is drawing on its longstanding supervisory expertise to support responsible growth. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reached further back for a comparison: "Just as President Abraham Lincoln's National Currency Act of 1863 established a national framework for bank-issued currency, the GENIUS Act establishes a federal framework for payment stablecoins in the digital age," he said, calling the law a watershed moment that cements the United States as the crypto capital of the world.
What comes next for applicants
The OCC said it received hundreds of comment letters on the proposal from crypto-focused companies, community banks, trade groups and academics, a sign of how widely the rule's reach will be felt. The agency will announce separately when it begins accepting and processing applications and waiver requests from prospective permitted payment stablecoin issuers, and it cautioned that, given the nascency of the industry, it will monitor how the market evolves and adjust the supervisory framework where needed. The rule lands as other jurisdictions move in the same direction: France's authorities this week proposed tighter MiCA rules that would bar EU-licensed platforms from servicing non-compliant stablecoins, while Asian regulators continue to widen the perimeter, as we saw with Thailand's new crypto ETF framework. For dollar stablecoin issuers, the message from Washington is now unambiguous: the rulebook exists, and the clock to January runs from today.