Genius Act Enforcement Countdown… How High Will the Bar Be for Stablecoin Issuers?

▲ Stablecoin

The U.S. stablecoin regulatory law GENIUS has moved into the implementation phase, and the framework for issuer licensing has been documented for the first time.

According to investment media outlet FXStreet on February 12 (local time), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making containing draft regulations for applicants seeking to issue payment stablecoins under the GENIUS regulatory framework. The draft is available for review through the Federal Register, and stakeholders may submit comments until April 13.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve (Fed) are also participating in establishing regulations for implementing the GENIUS Act, the key point of this announcement is that the NCUA has been the first to initiate practical procedures. NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman stated that the agency is on track to meet Congress’s July 18 deadline and pledged to ensure that credit unions are not placed at a disadvantage compared with other institutions in terms of schedule or standards.

According to the draft, the NCUA will be responsible for licensing and supervising payment stablecoin issuers established as subsidiaries of federally insured credit unions (FICUs). Federally insured depository institutions themselves cannot become payment stablecoin issuers and may do so only through subsidiaries, in which the depository institution must hold a 10% ownership stake. Licenses will be granted to the subsidiaries, not to the depository institutions.

The NCUA will decide whether to approve applications within 120 days of receiving a completed submission, and rejected applicants may reapply. After the comment period ends on April 13, the NCUA plans to review feedback, revise the draft accordingly, and then publish a legally binding final rule to complete the implementation of the GENIUS Act. Meanwhile, major stablecoin issuers such as Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and RLUSD will fall under the OCC’s supervisory framework, and these companies have reportedly applied for national trust bank charters.

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