Delaware introduced the Payment Stablecoins Act (Senate Bill 19) on March 24, making it the third US state to develop dedicated stablecoin legislation aligned with the federal GENIUS Act. The bill would establish licensing, reserve, custody, and disclosure requirements for payment stablecoin issuers, regulated by the Delaware Bank Commissioner with 1:1 reserve backing and monthly audit requirements.
Florida moved first. Its Senate passed SB 314 on March 6 in a unanimous 37-0 vote, creating the first state-level payment stablecoin framework in the country. The bill requires issuers to maintain 1:1 reserves, register as money services businesses, and obtain a license from the Office of Financial Regulation. It takes effect October 1, 2026, pending the governor's signature. Wyoming's Stable Token Act, which passed the state legislature in mid-March and awaits the governor's signature, takes a different approach: it would authorize the state treasurer to issue state-backed stablecoins pegged to the US dollar.
The state activity reflects the GENIUS Act's dual-track design. Signed into law on July 18, 2025, the Act permits state-chartered issuers to operate under state supervision if the state's regime is deemed substantially similar to federal standards. State regulators seeking certification must promulgate implementation rules by July 18, 2026, giving Delaware roughly four months to finalize a framework capable of passing federal review. State issuers with more than $10 billion in outstanding stablecoins must eventually transition to federal supervision within 360 days.
At the federal level, three of four primary regulators have published proposed rules. The OCC's notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on March 2, establishes a comprehensive supervisory framework including a $5 million minimum capital requirement for new permitted payment stablecoin issuers, the first such federal threshold. Permissible reserve assets include US currency, demand deposits at insured depository institutions, US Treasuries with residual maturity of 93 days or fewer, reverse purchase agreements backed by short-dated Treasuries, and qualifying government money market funds. The OCC comment period closes May 1.
The FDIC published proposed rules for bank subsidiaries on December 16, 2025, with comments closing on February 17. The NCUA followed on February 11, 2026, proposing a licensing framework for credit union stablecoin issuers; comments are due April 13. Under the NCUA's proposal, credit unions cannot issue stablecoins directly. Only NCUA-licensed subsidiaries of federally insured credit unions would be permitted. The Federal Reserve has not yet published its proposed regulations.
FDIC Chairman Travis Hill confirmed on March 11 that payment stablecoins will not be eligible for FDIC deposit insurance, including pass-through insurance. The GENIUS Act states that payment stablecoins are not subject to deposit insurance but is silent on pass-through coverage. Hill said the FDIC would resolve the question by regulation rather than waiting for a bank holding stablecoin reserves to fail. All issuers must instead rely on 1:1 reserve backing, with an explicit prohibition on paying interest or yield to stablecoin holders.
The House Financial Services subcommittee held a hearing on March 26 titled Innovation at the Speed of Markets, where the OCC and FDIC discussed implementation progress. A question raised during testimony concerned whether the Act's reserve structure could create de facto deposit preference for stablecoin reserves in a bank failure, potentially disadvantaging other depositors.
The GENIUS Act takes effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027, or 120 days after the primary regulators issue final implementing regulations. With the Federal Reserve yet to publish its proposal and three comment periods still open, the January 2027 fallback date appears increasingly likely. The current US stablecoin market stands at approximately $300 billion. The Treasury projects it could reach $3 trillion by 2030.