Programmable crypto enforcement

The U.S. Treasury wants some crypto compliance to run automatically in code, not just through lawyers and after-the-fact enforcement. (fincen.gov) On April 8, 2026, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a joint proposed rule under the GENIUS Act for permitted payment stablecoin issuers. The proposal would treat those issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and require an effective sanctions compliance program. (home.treasury.gov) The proposal was published in the Federal Register on April 10, 2026, and Treasury set June 9, 2026, as the deadline for public comments. The rule says it would impose anti-money-laundering obligations and sanctions-program requirements on permitted payment stablecoin issuers, or PPSIs. (federalregister.gov) A stablecoin issuer is the company that creates and redeems a token meant to hold a steady price, usually one dollar. Treasury’s move pushes those issuers closer to the compliance model used by banks and other regulated financial firms. (home.treasury.gov) Treasury paired the proposal with a March 2026 report to Congress on technology for stopping illicit finance in digital assets. That report highlighted artificial intelligence, digital identity, blockchain analytics and application programming interfaces as tools that can help firms detect and block suspicious activity. (home.treasury.gov) The practical effect is a bigger role for software that can screen wallets, monitor transactions and apply policy rules before a transfer settles. Treasury said “well-governed technology” can be a force multiplier against illicit finance, while also warning that new tools can create resource burdens for firms. (home.treasury.gov) Law firms tracking the proposal say it creates a stand-alone Bank Secrecy Act framework for permitted payment stablecoin issuers instead of leaving them inside the broader money-services-business bucket. Covington said the rule would mark the first federal requirement for this category of U.S. person to affirmatively maintain an effective sanctions compliance program. (cov.com) Treasury says the rule is meant to encourage innovation in payment stablecoins while tailoring controls to illicit-finance risks. Industry lawyers have also warned that building and maintaining these systems could raise compliance costs and favor larger issuers with deeper engineering and legal budgets. (home.treasury.gov; sullcrom.com) The immediate fight is no longer whether stablecoins will be regulated at all after Congress passed the GENIUS Act in July 2025. It is how much of that regulation gets translated into code that can stop a transaction on its own. (home.treasury.gov; federalregister.gov)