OCC Finalizes First GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rules Effective January 18 2027

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized its first rule implementing the GENIUS Act on October 21, becoming the first U.S. regulator to complete the stablecoin framework President Trump signed into law. The rule takes effect January 18, 2027, and sets binding requirements on reserves, redemptions, custody, risk management, capital and audits for payment stablecoin issuers under the OCC's jurisdiction, including national banks, federal savings associations, their subsidiaries, and nonbank firms seeking federal qualified issuer status.

Issuers must hold reserves worth at least as much as their outstanding stablecoins and must generally process redemption requests within two business days. The rule explicitly prohibits paying interest or yield to users solely for holding stablecoins, a restriction drawn directly from the GENIUS Act. Anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements were left to a separate, forthcoming rulemaking with the Treasury Department, and the OCC said it will announce separately when it begins accepting applications and waiver requests. Existing issuers with substantially complete OCC applications pending may seek temporary compliance waivers.

On the contested question of stablecoin reward programs, the OCC walked back a presumption in its earlier proposed rule that would have treated third-party rewards as prohibited yield. The final rule instead subjects platform reward programs, such as those offered by Coinbase, PayPal and Kraken, to case-by-case regulatory scrutiny based on their specific structure, leaving the fight over rewards formally unresolved. Comptroller Jonathan Gould said the rule was delivered ahead of schedule, citing support for economic growth and U.S. leadership in digital assets, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the GENIUS Act as a milestone in establishing the United States as a global crypto leader.