OCC Proposes Rules Implementing GENIUS Act for Licensed Stablecoin Issuers

What is the OCC proposing under the GENIUS Act?

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act, the federal law establishing a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, which was enacted on July 18, 2025. The proposal specifically covers entities that would become OCC-licensed payment stablecoin issuers.

What does the GENIUS Act actually require, at a high level? It generally prohibits anyone other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States — meaning the law creates a defined licensing category, and issuing outside that category becomes noncompliant rather than simply unregulated.

What does the OCC’s proposed rule specifically cover? The proposal addresses application requirements for any entity seeking to become an OCC-licensed issuer, limits on what activities a licensed issuer can engage in, an explicit prohibition on paying interest or yield on stablecoin holdings, requirements for how issuers must maintain and treat their reserves, redemption requirements for stablecoin holders, and risk management and capital adequacy obligations.

Why does the no-interest provision matter specifically? It draws a clear regulatory line between a payment stablecoin, designed purely as a medium of exchange, and an investment product that pays a return — a distinction that shapes how these tokens are marketed and who can legally offer yield-bearing products built around them.

What additional reporting is the OCC proposing? Alongside the licensing rule, the OCC is proposing weekly and quarterly reporting forms that permitted payment stablecoin issuers and foreign issuers registered with the OCC would need to complete — a recurring compliance obligation on top of the initial licensing requirements.

What’s the timeline? Rules implementing the GENIUS Act are generally required to be issued no later than one year after the law’s enactment, putting a July 18, 2026 target on much of this rulemaking process, with the proposal now moving into a public comment period before any final rule takes effect.

Want to understand how a stablecoin issuer’s reserves actually work and get verified? Learn more in the Bitcoin Academy.