U.S. regulators reached the GENIUS Act's one-year rulemaking deadline on Saturday without issuing the final regulations needed to implement the country's federal stablecoin framework. As of Saturday afternoon, principal rule packages issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Treasury Department remained proposals, with other rules involving the Federal Reserve and federal anti-money laundering authorities also unfinished. The delay stems from multiple agencies still conducting notice-and-comment processes, with some comment periods extending through August. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law on July 18, 2025, establishing the first major standalone federal crypto framework to clear Congress, which directed each primary federal payment stablecoin regulator to promulgate implementing regulations no later than one year after enactment.
The law established reserve, redemption, disclosure, licensing, and supervisory requirements for payment stablecoin issuers. Section 13 of the enacted statute directed the OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, NCUA, Treasury secretary, and each state stablecoin regulator to promulgate implementing regulations through notice-and-comment rulemaking no later than one year after enactment. The law does not specify consequences for missing the deadline or provide an alternative timetable.
OCC, FDIC, and NCUA Publish Stablecoin Proposal Packages
The OCC published its broad implementing proposal in the Federal Register on March 2, covering reserve assets, capital, liquidity, custody, risk management, reporting, and other requirements for issuers under its jurisdiction. The FDIC followed with a prudential standards proposal on April 10, covering reserves, capital, redemption, custody, and risk management for stablecoin issuers owned by institutions under its supervision. The proposal also addresses the deposit-insurance treatment of stablecoin reserves and tokenized deposits.
The NCUA issued a licensing proposal in February and a broader operational and risk-management proposal in May. Comments on the second package closed Friday, one day before the statutory deadline. Treasury's proposed state-regulation principles also remain unfinished. The proposal would determine when a state framework is "substantially similar" to the federal regime, allowing qualifying issuers with no more than $10 billion in outstanding stablecoins to remain under state supervision.
Federal Reserve and FinCEN Issue Customer Identification Requirements
The Federal Reserve, FinCEN, OCC, FDIC, and NCUA jointly issued a customer identification proposal on June 22, requiring issuers to verify primary-market customers and maintain related records. Comments remain open through Aug. 21. Five Fed governors backed releasing the proposal, while Chair Kevin Warsh abstained.
Separately, an FDIC proposal covering Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance remains open for comments through Aug. 4. FinCEN and the Office of Foreign Assets Control have also proposed broader anti-money laundering, reporting, and sanctions requirements for permitted issuers. Those schedules ensure that at least some rules needed to operate the framework will not be finalized until after the one-year deadline.
BlackRock and Industry Stakeholders Submit Regulatory Feedback
BlackRock urged the OCC to abandon a possible 20% cap on tokenized reserve assets, explicitly confirm that qualifying Treasury exchange-traded funds may be used as reserves, and expand the eligible asset list to include certain floating-rate Treasury notes. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., pressed agency officials in December to complete their GENIUS Act rules on time, noting that regulators have sometimes failed to implement legislation by congressionally mandated dates.
A bipartisan group of senators urged Treasury in June to preserve states' regulatory role, arguing that Treasury's proposal left uncertainty around the certification process and its timing. New York's Department of Financial Services has proposed its own GENIUS-aligned framework, adding reserve concentration limits and other requirements in an effort to meet the federal "substantially similar" standard. The absence of final federal rules means New York and other states may still have to revise their frameworks before seeking certification.
GENIUS Act Effective Date Remains January 18, 2027
Under Section 20, the law takes effect on the earlier of Jan. 18, 2027 (18 months after enactment) or 120 days after the primary federal regulators issue final implementing rules. Rules finalized after Sept. 20 could no longer move the date forward, since their 120-day window would end on Jan. 18 or later. Congress did not spell out a penalty or alternative timetable if agencies failed to finish those rules within a year.
Much of the framework is already written into the law. Issuers must maintain one-to-one reserves in eligible liquid assets, publish redemption policies and monthly reserve disclosures, and refrain from paying holders interest or yield directly. The pending rules will fill in how regulators apply and enforce those requirements.
FAQ
What did U.S. regulators fail to complete by the GENIUS Act deadline?
U.S. regulators reached the GENIUS Act's one-year deadline on Saturday without issuing final regulations for the federal stablecoin framework. Principal rule packages from the OCC, FDIC, NCUA, and Treasury Department remained proposals, with some comment periods extending through August.
When does the GENIUS Act take effect despite the missed rulemaking deadline?
Under Section 20, the GENIUS Act takes effect on Jan. 18, 2027 (18 months after enactment) or 120 days after primary federal regulators issue final implementing rules, whichever is earlier. The missed deadline does not postpone this effective date.
What requirements did BlackRock request in its feedback to the OCC?
BlackRock urged the OCC to abandon a possible 20% cap on tokenized reserve assets, explicitly confirm that qualifying Treasury exchange-traded funds may be used as reserves, and expand the eligible asset list to include certain floating-rate Treasury notes.
