FinCEN, OFAC propose stablecoin rules

The U.S. Treasury Department’s two main financial enforcement arms have moved the GENIUS Act from statute into rulemaking. On April 8, 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a joint proposed rule that would impose anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and sanctions-program requirements on permitted payment stablecoin issuers. (fincen.gov) Treasury said the proposal is meant to encourage payment-stablecoin innovation while creating what it called a tailored regime to address illicit-finance risks. (home.treasury.gov) The proposal matters because it would formally pull stablecoin issuers into the Bank Secrecy Act framework. FinCEN’s notice says the rule would treat permitted payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions for BSA purposes, require AML/CFT programs, and implement specific obligations set out in the GENIUS Act. (federalregister.gov) OFAC, in a parallel action, said issuers would have to maintain an effective sanctions compliance program. ### Which agencies are writing the rules, and under what law? The GENIUS Act was signed into law on July 18, 2025, according to a Treasury report to Congress on implementation of the statute. The law created a federal framework for payment stablecoin issuance and directed Treasury to write rules covering illicit-finance controls. (home.treasury.gov) Treasury said FinCEN and OFAC are jointly implementing those provisions through a notice of proposed rulemaking. The Federal Register notice published on April 10, 2026 describes the proposal as a joint rule to implement the GENIUS Act’s directives on AML/CFT and sanctions compliance. ### What would stablecoin issuers actually have to do? (fincen.gov) FinCEN’s fact sheet says the proposed rule would require permitted payment stablecoin issuers to establish AML/CFT programs tailored to their size and complexity. The proposal also would subject them to requirements that apply to financial institutions for preventing money laundering, including program, recordkeeping and related compliance obligations required by the statute and BSA framework. (home.treasury.gov) OFAC said the same proposal would require those issuers to adopt and maintain an effective sanctions compliance program. Treasury’s press release said the framework is intended to mitigate illicit-finance risks while allowing payment stablecoins to develop within a regulated structure. (ofac.treasury.gov) ### Does the proposal only affect federal issuers? Treasury said the GENIUS Act allows some smaller issuers to choose state supervision instead of the federal regime. In its request for comment, Treasury said payment stablecoin issuers with consolidated total outstanding issuance of not more than $10 billion may opt for a state-level regime if that regime is “substantially similar” to the federal framework. That threshold is one of the clearest operational numbers in the proposal. (fincen.gov) It means the federal AML and sanctions framework sits alongside a state pathway already built into the statute, rather than replacing it. ### Why is Treasury framing this as an innovation measure as well as an enforcement rule? (ofac.treasury.gov) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the department’s April 8 release that the proposal would “protect the U.S. financial system from abuse by illicit actors” while supporting American leadership in digital financial technology. Treasury used similar language in FinCEN’s release, saying the proposed rule encourages innovation in payment stablecoins while creating a tailored illicit-finance regime. (home.treasury.gov) The agencies’ framing tracks the statute’s design. Treasury’s March 2026 report to Congress said the GENIUS Act both established a regulatory framework for U.S. payment stablecoin issuers and required Treasury to study innovative tools for countering illicit finance involving digital assets. (home.treasury.gov) ### Where does the process go from here? The Federal Register notice published on April 10, 2026 opened the proposal for public comment. Treasury’s comment request says responses should be submitted through the rulemaking docket identified in the notice, which Treasury described as the first regulation it has proposed to implement the GENIUS Act. (home.treasury.gov) Treasury, FinCEN and OFAC will review those comments before deciding whether to finalize the rule. The next formal milestone is the close of the comment period in the Federal Register process set out in the April 10 notice. (federalregister.gov) (home.treasury.gov)