The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released a draft of rules for implementing the GENIUS Act, the first federal law concerning payment stablecoins. The document outlines requirements for issuers, reserves, and oversight of digital dollar issuance.
Treasury’s Proposal
The published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the department focuses on implementing the third section of the GENIUS Act. The document aims to define how the statutory regime for “stable coins”—digital tokens primarily intended for payments and settlements—will function in practice.
Signed in July 2025, the law established a federal regulatory framework for issuing payment stablecoins in the U.S. The Treasury is now moving from legislative principles to specific requirements for market participants.
The proposed rules address the definition of a payment stablecoin, its issuance and offering procedures, as well as jurisdiction and oversight issues. Essentially, the regulator is determining which companies can operate with these assets under the new regime.
Implications for Issuers
The GENIUS Act imposes strict requirements for backing payment stablecoins. They must be supported by reserves on a one-to-one basis, with the list of permissible assets limited to highly liquid instruments, including dollars, bank deposits, and short-term Treasury securities.
The law also mandates regular disclosure of reserve information and independent data verification. The key regulatory goal is to ensure users can redeem stablecoins at face value and to mitigate risks to the financial system.
However, the new rules do not introduce government insurance for such assets. The head of the FDIC has previously stated that stablecoin holders will not receive protection similar to bank deposit insurance.
Next Steps: Public Consultation
The published document is currently a draft, not final rules. The U.S. Treasury has opened a comment period for market participants and other stakeholders.
This initiative is another step in implementing the GENIUS Act. In April, the Treasury proposed rules concerning the interaction of the federal regime with state-level stablecoin regulations.
The deadline set by existing legislation for issuing regulatory frameworks for the GENIUS Act expired on July 18. The regulatory regime must be fully operational no later than 120 days after the publication of the final rules.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate is considering the CLARITY Act, a bill on the digital asset market structure, whose final version could affect stablecoin regulation.
