Reserve and redemption standards take effect January 2027
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized rules Wednesday establishing reserve requirements, redemption timelines, and custody standards for payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.
The rule applies to national banks, federal savings associations, federal branches and their subsidiaries, as well as nonbank firms seeking or receiving federal qualified issuer status. State-qualified issuers fall under OCC authority when the OCC has regulatory or enforcement authority over them. The regulations take effect January 18, 2027.
Stablecoin issuers must maintain reserves worth at least as much as their outstanding stablecoins. Redemption requests must be processed within two business days. Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency, said in a statement: “We are providing a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation, with strong standards for reserve backing, redemption, and risk management.”
Yield ban retained with narrowed affiliate presumption
The final rule retains the ban on issuers paying holders interest or yield solely for holding, using, or retaining stablecoins. However, the OCC dropped a proposed presumption that certain affiliate or related third-party arrangements violate the yield ban, narrowing the scope of prohibited activities.
The OCC and Treasury will address Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money-laundering, and sanctions requirements in separate rulemaking. Those requirements remain outstanding and will be finalized through additional agency action.
The GENIUS Act framework establishes federal oversight of payment stablecoin issuers and creates a pathway for nonbank entities to obtain federal qualified issuer status. The OCC’s finalized rule operationalizes the reserve, redemption, and custody components of that statutory framework for entities under its jurisdiction.
