The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a proposed rule to carry out the GENIUS Act, laying out an initial federal framework for how payment stablecoin issuers would operate under OCC oversight. The draft also covers foreign issuers within the agency’s jurisdiction and stablecoin custody services offered by OCC-supervised institutions, with the main focus on operational safety and regulatory compliance.
Draft rule centers on issuance and custody
The proposal defines requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers and sets out how foreign issuers would be treated where the OCC has authority. It also addresses custody activities conducted by institutions already supervised by the OCC. The document is aimed less at expanding stablecoin use than at placing issuance, custody, and related operations inside a regulated banking framework.
The OCC said the proposal explains how covered entities should manage stablecoin-related activities so they can function safely inside the regulated financial system and meet compliance expectations. The message is narrow by design. It sets operating boundaries first, leaving other policy areas for later.
AML and sanctions rules left outside this proposal
One of the clearest points in the draft is what it does not include: anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance requirements are outside the scope of this rulemaking. The OCC said those matters will be handled separately in coordination with the U.S. Treasury, including requirements tied to the Bank Secrecy Act and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
That split keeps the current proposal focused on issuer regulation and custody oversight, while financial crime compliance measures are reserved for another process. For market participants, the result is a first layer of federal standards for the business side of stablecoin operations, with AML and sanctions obligations still waiting on separate action.
Multi-agency implementation is now taking shape
Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said the proposal was developed after detailed review and that the agency is seeking public feedback before finalizing the rule. The OCC also said it will keep working with other agencies involved in implementing the GENIUS Act, signaling that stablecoin oversight will be divided across federal regulators rather than handled by a single office.
According to the agency, different parts of the law will be addressed by multiple regulators, with each rulemaking tied to a specific set of responsibilities. That makes this proposal an opening step in the broader rollout of the GENIUS Act: initial standards for issuers and custody are now on the table, while additional rules are expected as other agencies complete their mandates.