The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published a final rule implementing the GENIUS Act in the Federal Register on October 23, 2026. The Act takes effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027 or 120 days after the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators issue any final regulations. The OCC records that 120 days following this rule would fall later than January 18, 2027, so that date will be the effective date of the Act and of the rule. The preamble states that this is the first final rule issued by a primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator implementing the Act.
The rule covers the issuance of payment stablecoins and certain related activities by entities subject to the OCC's jurisdiction. The OCC received approximately 328 comments on its proposal of March 2, 2026. The final rule lowers the daily liquidity requirement from 10 percent to 5 percent of reserve assets. Section 15.12(c)(1) provides that timely redemption may not exceed two business days following the date of the requested redemption. The OCC adopted the $5 million capital floor for de novo issuers as proposed.
The preamble records that section 4(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Act refers to money standing to the credit of an account with a Federal Reserve Bank. It also states that ownership arrangements for assets held via custodians must comply with applicable laws and regulations, giving as an example the requirements applicable to customer securities owned through the Fedwire Securities Service.
Comments on Bank Secrecy Act, anti money laundering and sanctions requirements will be addressed in a separate rulemaking. The OCC will announce in a separate news release when it begins accepting and processing applications and waiver requests from prospective permitted payment stablecoin issuers. The Federal Reserve Board's 2026 press release page, as captured on October 5, 2026, listed no GENIUS Act action after its September 24, 2026 request for public comment on two proposals for a regulatory framework for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers.