US Regulator Proposes Stablecoin Rules
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a proposed rule to implement new stablecoin legislation. The proposal outlines requirements for issuing and redeeming payment stablecoins, including strict capital, liquidity, and risk management standards for banks and their fintech partners. This move signals a new phase of regulatory clarity for institutions looking to adopt stablecoin payment rails.
This proposal implements the "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act," a law passed by Congress to create a federal framework for payment stablecoins. It follows years of recommendations from the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, which urged Congress to regulate issuers like insured depository institutions to mitigate risks of bank runs and ensure stability in the payments system. The nearly 400-page rule proposes that stablecoin issuers operate under a federal charter from the OCC and maintain a minimum capital floor of $5 million, with actual requirements determined on a case-by-case basis. The proposal also requires issuers to hold a separate pool of highly liquid assets as an "operational backstop" to ensure they can maintain operations during disruptions like cyberattacks. These stringent capital and reserve rules are a direct response to past failures, most notably the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and its sister token Luna in May 2022. That de-pegging event wiped out an estimated $45 billion in market capitalization in a single week, triggering a cascade of failures across the crypto industry. The federal approach builds on frameworks already established at the state level, particularly by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The NYDFS guidance already requires licensed stablecoin issuers to maintain 1:1 reserves with assets segregated from the issuer's own funds and to allow holders to redeem their tokens for U.S. dollars in a timely manner. This push for regulatory clarity coincides with growing institutional adoption, with total stablecoin circulation surpassing $300 billion in 2025. Payment giants like PayPal and Circle are actively developing stablecoin-based solutions for cross-border payments and treasury optimization, while banks are exploring partnerships and their own issuance plans. For the broader payments landscape, regulated stablecoins are positioned as a new infrastructure layer that can interoperate with existing real-time payment rails like FedNow and the RTP network. This integration could unlock 24/7 settlement, improve liquidity management, and create more efficient global transaction flows. The rule, introduced by Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould, is now open for a 60-day public comment period. A separate rulemaking process, in coordination with the Treasury Department, will address requirements related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), anti-money laundering (AML), and OFAC sanctions.
