OCC Proposes NPRM to Implement GENIUS Act for Payment Stablecoins

The OCC’s NPRM would create a federal framework for payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act, establishing Part 15 and an OCC-led supervisory regime.

Rich by Coin

2026-03-06

On February 25, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “NPRM”) to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (the “GENIUS Act”). The proposal would add a new Part 15 to the OCC’s regulations and establish the supervisory framework applicable to “permitted payment stablecoin issuers” subject to OCC jurisdiction. The comment period will run for sixty days after publication in the Federal Register. The NPRM represents the OCC’s first rulemaking to operationalize the GENIUS Act, which was enacted in July 2025 to create a federal framework for payment stablecoins designed to maintain a stable value relative to fiat currency and function as a means of payment or settlement.

The statute limits lawful issuance to permitted entities and allocates primary federal supervisory authority to the OCC with respect to federally chartered issuers and qualifying subsidiaries. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration have previously issued their respective proposals to implement the GENIUS Act for institutions subject to their respective jurisdictions, and those comment periods are currently open until May and April respectively. The proposed regulation would formally integrate the OCC’s supervisory and enforcement authority into the stablecoin framework. Proposed § 15.30 would require two categories of applicants to file with the OCC and obtain prior approval before issuing payment stablecoins.

The OCC also states that it intends the § 15.30 process to be comprehensive for payment stablecoin issuance and the other stablecoin-related activities described in proposed § 15.10(a), such that additional OCC filings generally would not be required for the same activity if the relevant information is provided in the § 15.30 submission (for example, payment-system membership notice issues). Proposed § 15.30(b)(1) ties the submission to an OCC application form and instructions available at http://www.occ.gov.