The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized federal rules on October 21, 2026 implementing the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law President Trump signed in July 2025. The rule sets standards for reserve backing, redemption, and risk management for payment stablecoin issuers operating under OCC supervision, covering both domestic and foreign issuers within its jurisdiction.
Compared with the original proposal, the final rule removes a restriction that would have barred issuers from holding longer-term Treasury securities as reserves. It also drops a proposed blanket ban on third-party platforms, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, paying yield on customers’ stablecoin balances. The GENIUS Act itself still prohibits issuers from paying interest directly, but the OCC said it will instead assess third-party yield arrangements case by case rather than impose an outright prohibition — leaving the core dispute between crypto firms and banks unresolved. TD Cowen policy analyst Jaret Seiberg called the move a setback for banks and said the resulting ambiguity “creates uncertainty” that may ultimately require the Supreme Court to decide which yield arrangements are legal.
OCC Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said the framework “advances President Trump and Secretary Bessent’s vision for American leadership in digital assets,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent compared the GENIUS Act’s significance to the National Currency Act of 1863. Circle’s chief strategy officer Dante Disparte and Coinbase’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad both welcomed the final rule. The OCC said the rule addresses its required GENIUS Act rulemaking except for provisions on the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money-laundering requirements, and OFAC sanctions, which will be addressed separately with the Treasury Department; it will separately announce when it begins accepting applications from prospective issuers.
The rule and the GENIUS Act are both scheduled to take effect on January 18, 2027.
References
demokratis.co.id – OCC Finalizes GENIUS Act Rules for Stablecoin Issuers
