GENIUS Act and the OCC rule

Key facts (as of 29 October 2026)

• Enacted: the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, P.L. 119-27) was approved on 18 July 2025 (enrolled text, govinfo).
• Effective: on the earlier of 18 months after enactment (18 January 2027) or 120 days after the primary federal regulators issue final rules (Act, sec. 20). The OCC states the Act's effective date as 18 January 2027.
• OCC final rule: issued on 21 October 2026 (OCC Bulletin 2026-50), published in the Federal Register on 23 October 2026, effective on 18 January 2027.
• Other agencies: the FDIC (proposal published 10 April 2026), Federal Reserve (published 29 September 2026; comments to 30 November 2026) and Treasury (published 18 August 2026; comments closed 19 October 2026) issuance rules were still proposals: a Federal Register search on 29 October 2026 found no final versions (Federal Register). Treasury has finalised a separate procedural rule on state certification reviews (30 September 2026).
• Offering ban: from 3 years after enactment (18 July 2028), digital asset service providers may not offer or sell a payment stablecoin to a person in the US unless it is issued by a permitted issuer, subject to exceptions (Act, sec. 3(b)).

What the Act does

The OCC summarises it this way: the GENIUS Act "generally prohibits any person other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States". It also bars digital asset service providers from offering or selling payment stablecoins to US persons unless the issuer is permitted, or is a foreign issuer meeting certain requirements.

Who may issue

Sources: GENIUS Act text; OCC Bulletin 2026-50; private.law for the foreign-issuer summary.

Core requirements (from the Act's text)

The OCC final rule

The rule applies to national banks, federal savings associations, federal branches and their subsidiaries, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, non-banks seeking or holding federal qualified issuer approval, and state qualified issuers within OCC authority. Most of it sits in a new 12 CFR 15, covering:

• activities, reserve assets and redemption
• risk management, audits, reports and supervision
• state qualified issuers moving to the federal framework
• custody
• applications and registrations
• examination and supervision of foreign issuers
• revocation or rescission of approval
• capital and an operational backstop

It also amends the OCC's capital rules (12 CFR 3), prompt corrective action (12 CFR 6), fees (12 CFR 8) and rules of practice (12 CFR 19).

The final rule sets a US$5m capital floor for permitted issuers, extended beyond the de novo period, with higher requirements possible, and an operational backstop based on 12 months of total expenses. Timely redemption may not exceed two business days after the requested redemption (12 CFR 15.12(c)). An issuer that receives redemption requests above 10% of a coin's outstanding issuance in a single 24-hour period must notify the OCC within 24 hours and may ask for more time (15.12(d)) (Federal Register, 23 October 2026).

WarningThe OCC rule does not cover BSA/AML and OFAC sanctions. Those "will be addressed in a separate rulemaking in coordination with the Department of the Treasury". Expect further rules on issuer screening and freeze obligations.

Path to permitted status

flowchart TD
    A[Firm wants to issue a US payment stablecoin] --> B{What kind of firm?}
    B -- Bank subsidiary --> C[Apply via parent's federal regulator]
    B -- Non-bank --> D[Apply to OCC as federal qualified issuer]
    B -- State-chartered, up to US$10bn --> E[State regulator]
    B -- Foreign issuer --> F[Treasury comparability determination]
    F --> G[OCC registration and US-held reserves]
    E -- Above US$10bn --> D
    C --> P[Permitted payment stablecoin issuer]
    D --> P
    E --> P
    G --> Q[May be offered in the US]
    P --> Q

Comparison with other regimes

See MiCA and UK cryptoasset and stablecoin regime.

Early issuers on the US route

• Tether launched USA₮ on 27 January 2026, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., with Cantor Fitzgerald as designated reserve custodian (Tether).
• Stripe's Bridge received the OCC's preliminary conditional approval for Bridge National Trust Bank on 12 February 2026 (OCC Corporate Decision 1365).
• SoFi made SoFiUSD, issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., available in its app on 27 May 2026 (SoFi).
• Sony Bank's proposed Connectia Trust, N.A. received the OCC's preliminary conditional approval on 2 July 2026 (OCC Corporate Decision 1380).

What it means for high-risk businesses

• Counterparty choice. From July 2028, US-facing platforms will be limited to permitted issuers' tokens. Treasuries holding non-permitted tokens for US flows need a plan. See USDT vs USDC vs PYUSD vs EURC.
• Bank participation. The rule sets the framework for national banks and their subsidiaries to issue payment stablecoins. Over time, that could widen the number of banks able to serve stablecoin flows. See Tokenised deposits vs stablecoins.
• Compliance is coming. Issuer-level BSA and sanctions rules are still to be written. Expect issuers' freeze and screening policies to tighten.
• No yield on balances. Treasury plans that relied on issuer yield need to change.

Illustrative example: a US-facing treasury

Illustrative example. The business and figures are invented.

A payment processor serving US and offshore merchants holds US$12m in stablecoins: US$7m in a permitted US issuer's token and US$5m in a token whose issuer has no US status. For US merchants, it plans to settle only in permitted tokens from January 2027 and run down the other balance well before July 2028. Offshore flows continue in whichever token the local market and its providers use, subject to local rules.

Timeline

Q/A

Is USDT a permitted payment stablecoin?

private.law describes USDT as having no US federal status. Tether says USD₮ is "progressing towards GENIUS Act compliance"; its separate US token, USA₮, is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A. (Tether).

Can a business earn yield on stablecoin balances under the Act?

Not from the issuer: the Act bars issuers paying holders any form of interest or yield solely for holding, using or retaining the coin (sec. 4(a)(11)). Treat any yield offer on a token balance as a separate product with its own risks and regulation.

Does the Act apply to businesses outside the US?

It governs issuance in the US and offering or selling to persons in the US (sec. 3). A non-US business serving US customers through US providers will feel it through those providers.

Who writes the AML rules for issuers?

The OCC excluded BSA/AML and OFAC matters from its final rule; they "will be addressed in a separate rulemaking in coordination with the Department of the Treasury" (OCC Bulletin 2026-50).

Are tokenised deposits covered?

The FDIC's April 2026 proposal would clarify that tokenised deposits meeting the statutory definition of "deposit" are treated no differently under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act than other deposits (FDIC press release, 7 April 2026). See Tokenised deposits vs stablecoins.

Can a stablecoin issuer freeze tokens?

Under the Act, a permitted issuer's AML programme must include the technical capability to block, freeze and reject impermissible transactions (sec. 4(a)(5)). For existing issuers' freeze practice, see Major stablecoins: USDC, USDT and EURC.

Sources

• OCC Bulletin 2026-50, GENIUS Act Regulations: Final Rule (21 October 2026): https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2026/bulletin-2026-50.html
• Federal Register, OCC final rule (23 October 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/23/2026-21706/implementing-the-guiding-and-establishing-national-innovation-for-us-stablecoins-act-for-the
• GENIUS Act, Public Law 119-27, enrolled text: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm
• FDIC press release (7 April 2026): https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2026/fdic-approves-proposal-implement-genius-act-requirements-and-standards
• FDIC proposal (Federal Register, 10 April 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/10/2026-06974/genius-act-requirements-and-standards-for-fdic-supervised-permitted-payment-stablecoin-issuers-and
• Federal Reserve proposal (Federal Register, 29 September 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19860/implementing-the-federal-reserve-boards-responsibilities-under-the-genius-act
• Treasury proposal (Federal Register, 18 August 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/18/2026-16796/genius-act-regulations-on-payment-stablecoin-issuance-offer-and-sale
• OCC Corporate Decision 1365, Bridge National Trust Bank (12 February 2026): https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2026/cd1365.pdf
• OCC Corporate Decision 1380, Connectia Trust, N.A. (2 July 2026): https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2026/cd1380.pdf
• Tether, launch of USA₮ (27 January 2026): https://tether.io/news/tether-announces-the-launch-of-usat-the-federally-regulated-dollar-backed-stablecoin-made-in-america/
• SoFi, SoFiUSD launch (27 May 2026): https://investors.sofi.com/news/news-details/2026/SoFiUSD-Becomes-the-First-Stablecoin-Issued-by-a-US-National-Bank-to-Launch-on-a-Banking-Platform/default.aspx
• private.law, Stablecoins: Types and Regulation (updated 25 October 2026; secondary): https://wiki.private.law/en/stablecoins