In March 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) dropped rulemaking to operationalize the GENIUS Act.
Up until now, the GENIUS Act only defined what should exist: a federal framework for payment stablecoins.
This proposal defines how it actually works.
What the OCC Actually Did
The proposal establishes regulatory framework for “permitted payment stablecoin issuers” (PPSIs), a new class of regulated entity authorized to issue dollar-backed stablecoins.
It answers four foundational questions:
1) Who can issue stablecoins
Only regulated entities like banks, OCC-chartered institutions, or approved subsidiaries can issue payment stablecoins.
This is a hard line:
- No more “offshore-first” issuance models
- No more regulatory ambiguity around who is allowed to mint dollars on-chain
2) Backed by reserve requirements
Stablecoins must be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets (i.e. U.S. T-bills) and managed under strict custody and segregation rules.
This gives stablecoins a strong balance sheet with Tether being one of the highest revenue per employee companies in the world! This also creates a programmable wrappers around Treasuries and cash.
Issuers must honor redemption at par (1:1 USD), with clear operational requirements around liquidity and access to limit credit risk.
3) Capital, risk, and supervision
The OCC introduces capital thresholds, risk management standards, and ongoing supervision across the full lifecycle, from chartering to enforcement.
- Minimum capital requirements (e.g., ~$5M baseline for new issuers)
- Bank-like safety and soundness expectations
- Explicit governance and operational controls
4) No yield on stablecoins (TBD)
The rule enforces the GENIUS Act’s prohibition on interest-bearing stablecoins.
This kills yield-bearing stablecoin as savings accounts and reinforces stablecoins as payments infrastructure.
Areas where it is allowed is:
- Merchant discounts for paying with stablecoins
- Independent third-party yield (not coordinated with issuer)
- Issuer profit-sharing with partners
There are now many stablecoin Money Market Funds that pass through most of the yield to investors.
5) Custody regulated, even for non-issuers
Even institutions that hold reserves or provide custody fall under requirements.
- The entire stack (issuer → custodian → infrastructure) becomes regulated
AML/BSA rules are coming separately
The OCC explicitly split out AML and sanctions requirements into future rulemaking.
- This is phase 1 (prudential + operational)
- Compliance stack is still incomplete
Stablecoins Platform Moment
The OCC rules creates:
- Clear issuer pathways (charters, approvals)
- Deterministic constraints (reserves, redemption, capital)
- Predictable supervision
This unlocks real building:
- Banks issuing branded stablecoins
- More fintechs embedding stablecoin into products
- On/Off Chain payment flow settlement
Timeline Is Aggressive
- Comments due: May 1
- Final rules required by: July 18, 2026
Stablecoins are no longer a regulatory gray area.
Finally, the U.S. will have regulated money that is programmable.
I believe total addressable market will increase ten-fold, and many other countries will follow this guiding and establishing national innovation.