U.S. agencies failed to release the final rules for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation law, by the July 18 deadline. The provisions of the document allocated exactly one year from the “>signing date.
The law tasked financial regulators—the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve System (FRS), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)—along with the Treasury Secretary, to develop implementation rules.
By the set date, the responsible parties had only published draft documents and opened comment periods, but no final provisions were released.
Still in Development
In March, the OCC published a comprehensive proposal in the Federal Register for implementing the GENIUS Act, covering reserve assets, capital, liquidity, securities custody, risk management, reporting, and other requirements for stablecoin issuers.
In April, the FDIC introduced an initiative on prudential standards, addressing reserves, capital, redemption, custody, and risk management. The proposal also concerns deposit insurance related to stablecoin reserves and tokenized deposits.
In February, the NCUA published potential rules on licensing, and in May, a broader document on operational management and risk management. The comment period for the second package ended on July 17.
State-level regulatory principles from the Treasury Department also remain unfinished. The document is intended to determine when a state-level regulatory system is “substantially similar” to the federal regime.
At the end of June, the Federal Reserve, FinCEN, OCC, FDIC, and NCUA jointly released a customer identification proposal, requiring issuers to verify sources of funds and maintain appropriate documentation. Comments are accepted until August 21.
A separate FDIC document, concerning Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance, also remains open.
What’s Next?
Given the structure of American bureaucracy, several of the proposed rules are unlikely to be adopted by the end of the current year. Additionally, agencies must consider numerous industry feedbacks before finalizing the rules.
Missing the deadline does not delay the GENIUS Act’s effective date, but lawmakers must simultaneously work on the CLARITY Act.
According to the provisions, the law takes effect either on January 18, 2027 (18 months after adoption), or 120 days after the main federal regulatory bodies issue final rules for its application.
However, Congress did not provide penalties or alternative deadlines if agencies fail to complete these rules on time.
In June, the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and 76 regional associations “>urged the Senate to clarify the CLARITY Act’s provisions on stablecoin yield.
