U.S. Treasury Moves to Put GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rules Into Effect

The U.S. Treasury Department is moving closer to putting the GENIUS Act into practice, opening its proposed stablecoin regulations to public comment as the United States prepares for its first comprehensive federal framework governing payment stablecoins.

Treasury issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining how it intends to implement Section 3 of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, better known as the GENIUS Act. The proposal focuses on who can issue stablecoins in the United States, how foreign stablecoins can reach American customers and what crypto platforms must do to remain compliant. 

The GENIUS Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025, becoming the first major federal cryptocy regulatory legislation enacted in the United States.

GENIUS Act Rules Begin Taking Effect in 2027

The first major restrictions under the GENIUS Act are expected to become effective on January 18, 2027.

Beginning on that date, companies generally will not be allowed to issue payment stablecoins in the United States unless they have obtained the appropriate federal or state license. 

Treasury’s proposed rules are intended to clarify several important questions, including:

• What legally qualifies as issuing a stablecoin in the United States

• When a company needs a federal or state GENIUS Act license

• What qualifies as offering or selling a stablecoin to a U.S. person

• How the rules apply to foreign stablecoin issuers

• What responsibilities crypto exchanges and other digital asset service providers have

• When exemptions or regulatory safe harbors could apply

Treasury’s proposal says a stablecoin generally would be considered issued in the United States if, at the time of issuance, either the issuer is located in the U.S. or the stablecoin is issued to a person located in the U.S.

Foreign Stablecoins Face New U.S. Restrictions

The proposed framework could have major implications for stablecoins issued outside the United States.

Digital asset service providers generally will not be permitted to make certain foreign-issued payment stablecoins available unless the foreign issuer has the technological capability to comply with lawful U.S. orders and meets requirements involving reciprocal arrangements between the United States and the issuer’s home jurisdiction.

The proposed regulation also makes clear that the rules can have extraterritorial effect when a stablecoin is being offered or sold to someone located in the United States. 

That could make the GENIUS Act relevant even to companies that do not physically operate from inside the country.

Bigger Restrictions Arrive in July 2028

Another major deadline arrives on July 18, 2028.

Beginning then, digital asset service providers generally will not be allowed to offer, sell or otherwise make payment stablecoins available to people in the United States unless those stablecoins are issued by an appropriately licensed issuer. 

The two major dates are:

• January 18, 2027 — Companies generally must obtain an appropriate license before issuing payment stablecoins in the United States.

• July 18, 2028 — Digital asset service providers generally cannot offer or sell payment stablecoins to U.S. users unless the stablecoin comes from a licensed issuer.

These requirements could ultimately reshape which stablecoins cryptocy exchanges, wallets and payment providers can make available to American customers.

Treasury Wants the Crypto Industry’s Input

The rules are not yet final.

Treasury is using the formal rulemaking process to collect feedback from stablecoin issuers, cryptocy companies, financial institutions, consumer groups and other interested parties before finalizing its regulations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department wants to provide regulatory certainty that allows companies to continue innovating in the United States while strengthening the dollar’s position in the global financial system.

The current proposal builds on an earlier Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in September 2025, when Treasury began gathering industry feedback about implementation of the GENIUS Act.

Public Comments Are Open Until October

The proposed rule was formally published on August 18, 2026, and interested parties have until October 19, 2026 to submit comments. 

Treasury is specifically seeking feedback on how its proposed definitions and regulatory approach would work in real-world stablecoin markets.

That comment period gives companies operating in the sector an opportunity to influence how some of the law’s most important provisions are ultimately interpreted.

Treasury Is Also Targeting Illicit Finance

The latest proposal is only one part of the government’s broader implementation of the GENIUS Act.

In April, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control proposed separate rules covering anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers. Those proposals would treat permitted stablecoin issuers as financial institutions for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Actand require them to maintain effective sanctions compliance programs.

Treasury has also previously sought feedback on technologies that could help financial institutions detect illicit digital asset activity, including:

• Artificial intelligence

• Blockchain analytics and monitoring

• Digital identity verification

• Application programming interfaces

• Other emerging compliance technologies

Together, the proposals demonstrate that implementing the GENIUS Act will involve much more than simply requiring stablecoin issuers to obtain licenses.

Stablecoin Regulation Is Moving From Legislation to Implementation

For years, much of Washington’s crypto debate centered on whether Congress could pass meaningful federal digital asset legislation.

With the GENIUS Act now law, the focus has shifted to something equally important — how regulators interpret and enforce it.

Definitions surrounding where a stablecoin is considered issued, who qualifies as a U.S. customer and how foreign issuers can participate in American markets could determine how companies structure their stablecoin businesses.

The outcome could have significant implications for stablecoin issuers, crypto exchanges, wallets, fintech companies, banks and international companies hoping to serve American customers.

The Treasury’s public comment period now gives those stakeholders an opportunity to influence those details before the regulations become final.

With the first major GENIUS Act provisions expected to take effect in January 2027, the United States is moving from debating federal stablecoin regulation to actually building the rules that will govern the market