Catenaa, Wednesday, August 26, 2026-The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency expects to finalize its rules implementing the GENIUS Act by November, moving the United States closer to a functioning federal licensing system for payment stablecoin issuers.
Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said this week that the agency had reviewed public comments and revised its initial proposal.
The OCC intends to complete the final rule in time to begin processing applications in the new year.
That would move the landmark stablecoin law from legislation and regulatory consultation into an operational supervisory regime.
The OCC proposed its main GENIUS Act regulations in February.
The framework covers payment stablecoin issuers under the agency’s jurisdiction, including certain bank subsidiaries, federally approved nonbank issuers and foreign stablecoin issuers operating under the U.S. framework.
The proposed rules address reserve assets, redemption obligations, risk management, audits, reporting, supervision, custody and the application process.
They also establish standards for capital and operational backstops.
Separate rules covering anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act requirements and sanctions compliance are being developed with Treasury and other federal agencies.
Gould said the OCC began working on implementation even before President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025.
The agency now wants the main framework completed by November.
Congress gave regulators one year after enactment to implement the law through rulemaking.
That deadline passed in July without the full set of final regulations being completed.
The delay does not prevent the framework from moving forward, but it has increased pressure on agencies to finish the rulebook before the law becomes fully operational.
Under the GENIUS Act, the statutory framework takes effect on the earlier of 18 months after enactment or 120 days after the primary federal stablecoin regulators issue final implementing rules.
Eighteen months from the July 18, 2025, enactment date falls on Jan. 18, 2027, unless final regulations trigger an earlier effective date.
The OCC’s November target therefore places the agency within the final months before that statutory timetable.
The more consequential part of Gould’s announcement may be what comes after the rule.
The OCC expects to begin processing applications under the new system during 2027.
That would allow qualifying companies to seek federal approval to issue payment stablecoins under a framework created specifically for the sector.
The GENIUS Act requires permitted payment stablecoins to maintain reserve backing using highly liquid assets and establishes redemption, disclosure and supervisory requirements.
The law also creates pathways for both bank-linked and qualifying nonbank issuers.
Foreign stablecoin companies face separate conditions if they want their products treated as permitted payment stablecoins in the United States.
For crypto companies and financial institutions, the shift from proposed regulations to applications means stablecoin regulation is becoming a licensing question rather than a legislative debate.
Gould has said stablecoins are increasingly appearing in business plans submitted by prospective banks and other companies seeking OCC charters.
That suggests institutions are preparing before the final rule is published.
Stablecoins have expanded beyond crypto exchange settlement into payments, corporate treasury operations and cross-border transfers.
Banks are simultaneously developing tokenized deposits and blockchain settlement services.
The GENIUS framework could determine where regulated stablecoins fit alongside those products.
OCC supervision will be particularly important because stablecoin issuers resemble both payment companies and institutions managing pools of reserve assets.
The regulator has compared that responsibility with its historical role overseeing the reserves backing national bank notes.
The stablecoin framework is moving ahead while broader crypto market legislation remains uncertain.
Congress has turned its attention to the Clarity Act, which seeks to establish a wider federal structure for digital assets and clarify the responsibilities of agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
That bill faces disputes over stablecoin rewards, ethics provisions and other issues.
Gould said the OCC cannot base its work on whether the Clarity Act eventually passes.
The GENIUS Act is already law and must be implemented.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important in Washington.
While broad crypto legislation remains politically contested, regulators are beginning to build rules around areas where Congress has already acted.
The November deadline marks an important change in the U.S. stablecoin story.
For years, the central question was whether Congress would regulate dollar-backed tokens.
That question has been answered.
The next question is who will qualify to issue them under federal supervision.
Once the OCC begins processing applications, competition could shift from regulatory lobbying to regulatory execution.
Crypto-native stablecoin companies will face banks and other financial institutions capable of entering the same market under clearer rules.
Reserve management, redemption systems, compliance controls and regulatory capital will become competitive factors alongside liquidity and distribution.
The timing also shows the divergence developing in U.S. crypto policy.
Congress is struggling to complete a broad digital asset framework through the Clarity Act.
Stablecoins are moving ahead anyway.
If the OCC meets its November target, 2027 could begin with the United States possessing something it lacked for most of crypto’s history: a formal federal pathway for companies seeking permission to issue regulated digital dollars.
Trump signed the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, establishing the first major U.S. federal framework specifically for payment stablecoins. The OCC issued its main proposed implementing rule in February 2026 and has since published additional proposals covering reporting and anti-money laundering requirements. The law generally requires payment stablecoins to maintain eligible reserve assets and establishes federal and state supervisory pathways for issuers. Its statutory effective date is Jan. 18, 2027, unless final federal regulations trigger an earlier date.
