OCC Proposes GENIUS Act Stablecoin Regulations Across Five CFR Parts, March 2, 2026

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on March 2, 2026, to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act). The proposal is at the pre-final stage: the comment period closes May 1, 2026, and no final rule has been issued. The NPRM covers the issuance of payment stablecoins and related activities by entities subject to OCC jurisdiction, including national banks, federal savings associations, and OCC-licensed entities.

The proposed regulations would amend 12 CFR Parts 3, 6, 8, 15, and 19 under Docket ID OCC-2025-0372, RIN 1557-AF41. The GENIUS Act (codified at 12 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.) defines a "payment stablecoin" under section 2(22) as a digital asset designed for use as a means of payment or settlement whose issuer must maintain a stable value relative to a fixed monetary amount and is obligated to convert or redeem it at that fixed amount. The proposal introduces a two-category licensing pathway: "Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers" regulated exclusively by the OCC and subsidiaries of OCC-regulated insured depository institutions that obtain OCC approval as "permitted payment stablecoin issuers."

Exchanges, custodians, and any DeFi protocol that seeks to partner with or integrate OCC-licensed stablecoin issuers must assess whether their arrangements trigger OCC-supervised activity thresholds. The GENIUS Act's self-executing provisions on state-law preemption apply immediately: section 4(b)(1) (12 U.S.C. 5903(b)(1)) provides that a Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer is subject to a single licensing requirement — the OCC's — notwithstanding conflicting state licensing laws. This effectively displaces existing state money-transmission licenses for OCC-licensed issuers, a significant shift for multi-state stablecoin operators.

The NPRM does not address GENIUS Act provisions applicable to non-OCC-regulated entities (such as state-chartered stablecoin issuers operating under a parallel state licensing regime established by the Act). Reserve requirements, redemption mechanics, and consumer protection obligations will be addressed in supplemental rulemaking. Market participants should submit comments by May 1, 2026, via Regulations.gov (Docket ID OCC-2025-0372).

Source: "Implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act for the Issuance of Stablecoins by Entities Subject to the Jurisdiction of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency," 91 FR 10202, Docket ID OCC-2025-0372, RIN 1557-AF41 (OCC, Mar. 2, 2026), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/02/2026-04089/implementing-the-guiding-and-establishing-national-innovation-for-us-stablecoins-act-for-the. Confirmed: March 3, 2026.

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