U.S. Treasury proposes GENIUS Act rules requiring stablecoin issuers to obtain federal or state licenses by January 2027, and restricting foreign stablecoin offerings to U.S. users starting July 2028.
DeFi & Yields ·
The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed its first major rule implementing the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins), establishing core definitions and jurisdictional scope for federal stablecoin regulation. The proposal, which opens a 60-day public comment period, addresses what it means to issue U.S. stablecoins and which entities must comply. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the administration aims to move quickly to provide regulatory certainty while supporting dollar dominance and American crypto competitiveness.
The Treasury proposal treats stablecoins as a distinct regulatory category rather than applying traditional securities frameworks, though it consulted existing financial instrument laws as reference. The department emphasized that Congress intended payment stablecoins to function as effective means of payment and settlement across borders, and applying conventional investment rules could undermine that goal. The rule poses dozens of interpretive questions, including how to treat foreign issuers like Tether, with responses due mid-October.
The proposal arrives roughly one month after missing the law's one-year implementation deadline. The next regulatory milestone is the law's effective date of January 18, though finalizing all rules by then is unlikely and industry transitions typically include phased compliance periods. Additional rules from banking and markets regulators remain pending, and separate congressional efforts to rewrite portions of GENIUS are underway, particularly regarding exchange reward programs for stablecoin customers.