The U.S. Treasury Department has taken a significant step toward implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act by proposing federal definitions for stablecoin issuers. This proposal aims to clarify who must follow the rules and how they should operate within the U.S. regulatory framework.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the administration's effort to move quickly to provide regulatory certainty for businesses, support innovation, solidify the U.S. dollar's global reserve currency status, and maintain America's position as a leader in cryptocurrency. The department noted that while it studied existing securities laws, it believes applying traditional investment rules to payment stablecoins might impede their intended function as effective means of payment and settlement, especially across borders.
This action follows up on an advance notice of the rule issued last September. The public and stablecoin issuers now have 60 days to provide comments, with a deadline set for mid-October. Following the comment period, the Treasury Department will spend several months reviewing feedback before issuing a final rule. The law's original one-year implementation target expired last month, and its effective date is January 18, making it unlikely that all final rules will be in place by then.
