So the FDIC has finally released the formal rules for those wanting to issue stablecoins in the U.S. Basically, the federal deposit insurance agency presented its approach on Tuesday, aligning closely with what the OCC proposed back in February. The entire process will be open for public comments for 60 days, with 144 specific questions on the table.

The FDIC's role here is somewhat important — they will oversee deposit institutions issuing stablecoins through subsidiaries. So they’ve set capital, liquidity, and custody requirements, but the final details will only come out after they finish processing the comments. It will probably take a few more months.

One detail many thought would be different: stablecoins will not have deposit insurance like banks do with traditional accounts. The FDIC was very clear on that. And there’s another point that sparked some debate — about reward programs. The previous OCC proposal raised some eyebrows, but now the FDIC is saying that issuers can’t simply claim that their tokens pay interest just for holding or using the stablecoin. Not even through agreements with third parties like exchanges.

But here’s the interesting detail: crypto experts are a bit more relaxed now because they believe that well-structured rewards probably won’t violate the rules. This is a symbolic win for the sector.

Regarding capital, the FDIC wants issuers to maintain a specific amount to manage operational risk, in addition to a separate support based on last year’s expenses. There’s also the issue of tokenized deposits — if they meet the legal definition of a deposit, they will be treated the same as other deposits.

The timing is interesting because while the FDIC and other agencies work on implementation, the Senate is working on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. There’s a conflict between the banking sector and crypto over how to treat yield-bearing stablecoins, a debate that has been ongoing for months. Lawmakers say they’re close to resolving it, but it hasn’t gone to a hearing yet.

Congress returns from recess at the end of the week. And here’s the political context: with the Trump administration having appointed only Republicans to agencies, there are no Democrats to object to the regulatory language. But interestingly, when the GENIUS Act became law, it had solid bipartisan support.

In the end, the FDIC is moving the needle. These regulatory proposals will shape how stablecoins operate here moving forward.