Treasury issues GENIUS Act rule proposal, seeks comment on state oversight for smaller issuers

2026-04-01 17:59:29

The U.S. Treasury Department is once again seeking public comment on the implementation of the GENIUS Act, the legislation passed into law last summer that created guidelines for stablecoin issuance and usage in the United States.

On Wednesday, the Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) representing the “first regulation Treasury has proposed to implement the GENIUS Act,” according to a statement on Wednesday.

“The GENIUS Act directs Treasury to, through notice and comment rulemaking, establish broad-based principles for determining whether a state-level regulatory regime is substantially similar to the federal regulatory framework under the GENIUS Act,” the agency wrote.

Wednesday’s NPRM proposes broad-based principles for determining whether a state-level regulatory regime is “substantially similar” to the federal regulatory framework established by the GENIUS Act.

The proposal is meant to address a GENIUS Act provision that would allow smaller stablecoin issuers (those with less than $10 billion in issued assets) to opt for state regulation instead of full federal oversight — but only if the state regime meets the “substantially similar” standard.

Members of the public will have 60 days to respond to the Treasury’s NPRM in the Federal Register.

Federal regulators are still working to interpret the high-level guidelines established by the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, including how it interacts with existing money transmission regulations and where particular agencies will maintain oversight.

Seeking public remarks

This is not the first time the Treasury has sought public comment related to GENIUS.

The department issued a request for comment related to digital forensic tools and stablecoins in August, shortly after the law was passed, and a separate Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking broad input on implementation, including tax-related and information gathering issues, in September.

Top U.S. banking regulators, the FDIC and OCC, have also published notices of proposed rulemaking.

Notably, the GENIUS Act did not include guidelines for yield-bearing stablecoins, a topic that has become a serious roadblock as Congress attempts to pass broader market structure legislation, often referred to as Clarity, after one particular House draft.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

ACT-1,97%

ON-2,78%

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.