Regulators have begun translating the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into concrete rules, with multiple stablecoin proposals now open for public comment as the clock ticks towards a mid-2026 deadline.
Stablecoin Rules Start to Trickle in as GENIUS Act Deadline Looms
9 April 2026 - 23:44 CEST
By Ana Pereira
As many as five rulemakings tied to the law are currently in the notice-and-comment stage, according to a tracker by crypto investment firm Paradigm, marking the first concrete steps in translating the legislation into enforceable rules.
Agencies start rulemaking
Several agencies have moved parts of the GENIUS Act into the formal rulemaking stage.
The US Treasury published a 3 Apr proposal setting out how state-level regimes can qualify as "substantially similar" to federal oversight, a key condition for allowing issuers to operate under state supervision. The rule is open for public comment until early June.
Meanwhile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has proposed a framework that would apply bank-style oversight to stablecoin issuers. The draft rules include requirements to meet redemptions within two business days, tighter controls on reserve management and limits on yield-bearing structures. The draft also clarifies that reserve deposits would be insured only at the issuer level, not for individual token holders.
Treasury has also advanced anti-money laundering rules through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), requiring issuers to implement sanctions in line with those that are imposed on traditional financial institutions.
Other measures, including rules on issuance requirements, Bank Secrecy Act compliance and criteria for foreign issuers, though earlier in the pipeline, have yet to be formally proposed.
Timeline tightens
The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, established the first comprehensive federal regime for payment stablecoins in the US, requiring 1:1 reserve backing with high-quality liquid assets, banning algorithmic stablecoins and setting capital and liquidity standards.
Regulators have one year from enactment to complete most rulemakings, making the deadline this 18 Jul. Full implementation is scheduled for 18 months after enactment, or 120 days after final rules are issued, whichever comes first.
So far, progress remains limited. Only five of 22 required rulemakings have been formally proposed, while none have been finalized, according to the tracker.
That leaves regulators with roughly three months to propose the remaining rules if they are to meet the statutory timeline. However, while the GENIUS Act sets clear timelines, agencies face no formal penalties for missing them.
