OCC targets November for GENIUS Act stablecoin rules as 60% of new charter bids include digital-asset plans
Jonathan Gould said the OCC will review industry feedback before finalizing the framework, while new-bank charter applications increasingly center on digital assets and broader crypto legislation remains uncertain.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is aiming to finalize its main GENIUS Act regulations in November, giving stablecoin issuers and financial institutions a clearer marker ahead of the law's Jan. 18, 2027 enactment. Jonathan Gould said about 60% of new bank charter applications under the Trump administration include business plans related to digital assets, adding to earlier remarks that digital-asset chartering activity at the OCC has increased eightfold since the Biden administration. The OCC's February proposal would require supervised issuers to hold eligible reserve assets, redeem payment stablecoins at par and meet standards on liquidity, risk controls, audits, reporting, custody and examinations, while industry debate has centered on 1:1 reserve reporting and market-data disclosures. Interest in national trust bank charters, including the OCC's conditional approval for World Liberty Financial, has highlighted the appeal of federally supervised crypto structures, even as the separate Clarity bill continues to face a difficult path to enactment.
- GENIUS Act: A U.S. law that creates a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and their issuers.
- payment stablecoins: Digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, typically relative to a fiat currency, for payments and settlement.
- national trust bank charters: OCC charters that can allow trust, custody and related asset-servicing activities under federal oversight without full traditional bank powers.