OCC Issues Final Rule Implementing the GENIUS Act, Setting the Federal Framework for Payment Stablecoins
On October 21, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a final rule implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The GENIUS Act, enacted on July 18, 2025, establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin activities, defining a “payment stablecoin” as a digital asset designed to be used as a means of payment or settlement whose issuer is obligated to redeem it for a fixed amount of monetary value and represents that it will maintain a stable value.
The final rule addresses nearly all of the regulations the OCC is required to promulgate under the GENIUS Act—apart from Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, and OFAC sanctions requirements, which will follow in a separate rulemaking coordinated with Treasury—and implements the bulk of the framework through a new 12 CFR Part 15, covering permitted activities, reserve assets, redemption, risk management, audits and supervision, state issuer transitions, custody, and applications and registration.
Prior to the final rule, the OCC received roughly 328 comments from crypto companies, trade groups, banks, nonprofits, academics, and individuals. Certain commenters suggested that the OCC apply various consumer protection laws and regulations to permitted payment stablecoin issuers, including the Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) pursuant to section 1031 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5531), Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices (UDAP) under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq.) (EFTA), the Truth in Lending Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (TILA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) (GLBA). Other commenters argued that new consumer protection requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers should be drafted rather than simply applying existing statutes and regulations. Ultimately, the final rule noted it would be outside the scope of the rulemaking to opine on all the statutes that may be applicable to permitted payment stablecoin issuers. The OCC’s final rule does not alter the scope of the consumer protection laws that apply to permitted payment stablecoin issuers.
The final rule and the GENIUS Act take effect January 18, 2027. The rule applies to national banks, federal savings associations, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, nonbank entities seeking approval as federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers, and state qualified payment stablecoin issuers subject to OCC jurisdiction under the Act. Any entity contemplating a stablecoin issuance or custody business should watch the areas the OCC flagged as likely to develop further—particularly the yield-prohibition presumption, reserve structuring, and state-to-federal transition mechanics—since the agency has signaled it expects to revisit and supplement these rules as the market matures.
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