US Treasury Proposes Stablecoin Rules to Implement GENIUS Act

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has proposed new federal definitions and regulatory standards for stablecoin issuers as the government moves to implement the GENIUS Act, the landmark U.S. stablecoin law.

The proposed rule seeks to clarify what constitutes issuing a U.S. payment stablecoin and which companies must comply with the law. Treasury is one of several federal authorities responsible for establishing regulations before the GENIUS Act becomes fully effective, alongside U.S. banking and financial market regulators.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is moving quickly to provide regulatory certainty for businesses while encouraging financial innovation, strengthening the U.S. dollar’s global role and supporting the United States’ ambitions in the cryptocurrency industry.

In developing the proposal, Treasury examined established securities regulations governing the issuance, offering and sale of financial instruments, including rules covering offshore activity. However, the department emphasized that applying traditional investment regulations too broadly could undermine the GENIUS Act’s objective of making payment stablecoins effective tools for payments and settlement, including cross-border transactions.

The latest proposal follows an advance notice issued by Treasury in September 2025. Stablecoin issuers, financial institutions and other interested parties now have 60 days to submit comments, with responses due in mid-October. Treasury will then review the feedback before issuing its final stablecoin regulations.

One closely watched issue is how the framework will apply to foreign stablecoin issuers, particularly major companies such as Tether. The proposal includes dozens of questions that Treasury must consider before finalizing its interpretation of the law.

The GENIUS Act’s original one-year target for implementing regulations passed in July without completion. The law is expected to become effective by January 18, although all required regulations may not be finalized by then.

Meanwhile, GENIUS Act implementation overlaps with congressional negotiations over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which could modify parts of the stablecoin law, particularly rules surrounding stablecoin rewards programs. That legislation remains uncertain after key Senate votes failed to advance before lawmakers left for the August recess.