Treasury proposes GENIUS Act stablecoin rules

The U.S. Treasury on August 18, 2026 proposed rules to implement section 3 of the GENIUS Act, the law governing payment stablecoin issuance, offer and sale in the United States. The notice of proposed rulemaking would define when a stablecoin is considered issued in the United States and when it is offered or sold to a person in the United States, two questions that determine whether federal licensing and distribution limits apply. (federalregister.gov) Treasury said it was seeking public comment on the framework. (home.treasury.gov) The proposal matters because the GENIUS Act bars anyone other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States, subject to limited exceptions and safe harbors. (home.treasury.gov) Treasury said the new definitions are meant to provide clarity to issuers and market participants on when those statutory restrictions are triggered. ### Which question is Treasury trying to answer? Section 3 of the GENIUS Act turns on geography. Treasury said the proposed rule is designed to answer when a payment stablecoin is “issued in the United States” and when it is “offered or sold” to a person “in the United States.” Those definitions decide when an issuer needs a GENIUS license and when distribution restrictions apply. (federalregister.gov) Treasury said the rule would implement the law’s “statutory prohibitions and limitations on payment stablecoin issuance, offer, and sale in the United States.” In its press release, the department said the proposal would give industry “clarity” on licensing and on when coins may be offered or sold to U.S. persons. (home.treasury.gov) ### Why do definitions of “in the United States” matter so much? The GENIUS Act is not only about the issuer itself. Global Relay, summarizing the proposal, said the definitions will matter for issuers, digital asset service providers and foreign-issued coins because they affect the reach of U.S. licensing and distribution restrictions. That means the rule could determine whether offshore structures or non-U.S. intermediaries still fall inside the statute when U.S. users are involved. (federalregister.gov) Treasury’s own description points in the same direction. The department said the proposal would define when an issuer needs a license and when a stablecoin is being offered or sold to a person in the United States, making the rule a threshold question for compliance programs, onboarding controls and distribution arrangements. (home.treasury.gov) ### Does this proposal set reserve rules too? The GENIUS Act itself requires payment stablecoin reserves to be held in specified liquid assets, including cash and short-dated U.S. Treasuries, according to the source briefing and related coverage of the law. This Treasury proposal, however, is focused on section 3 definitions around issuance, offer and sale rather than creating a new reserve framework from scratch. (grip.globalrelay.com) That distinction matters for readers following the rollout of the law. The reserve requirement is part of the broader GENIUS framework, while this notice addresses the jurisdictional tests that determine who must comply with it in U.S. markets. (home.treasury.gov) ### Who comes under pressure if the rule is adopted? Foreign issuers, crypto exchanges, brokers and other digital asset service providers would all need to map how coins reach U.S. users if the proposal is finalized as written, according to Global Relay’s account of the rule. The practical effect would be on licensing analysis, distribution policies and controls around whether a coin is being made available to a person in the United States. (grip.globalrelay.com) Treasury did not announce a final effective date. The department said comments on the proposal must be received within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, and it directed submissions to Regulations.gov or by mail to Treasury’s Office of General Counsel in Washington. (home.treasury.gov) Treasury listed Brendan Costello, Cody Gaffney and Jonathan Hurowitz as contacts for the rulemaking. (grip.globalrelay.com)