The GENIUS Act, formally the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, is a United States federal law enacted on July 18, 2025, as Public Law 119-27. It establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, including issuer authorization, reserve backing, redemption, supervision, and enforcement. Its scope is payment stablecoin issuance and related activities, rather than a comprehensive regulatory system for all digital assets. (govinfo.gov)
Legislative history
The enacted measure, S. 1582, passed the Senate on June 17, 2025. The House of Representatives passed it on July 17, 2025, by 308 votes to 122, and President Donald Trump signed it the following day. Enactment and implementation are distinct: the law establishes the framework, while regulatory agencies develop rules governing its operation. (govinfo.gov)
Scope and legal classification
The law defines a payment stablecoin as a digital asset intended for payment or settlement whose issuer must redeem it for a fixed monetary amount and represents that it will maintain a stable value relative to that amount. The definition excludes national currencies and deposits, including deposits recorded through distributed-ledger technology. Consequently, a tokenized bank deposit and a payment stablecoin are not automatically the same legal instrument. (govinfo.gov)
Payment stablecoins issued by permitted issuers are excluded from the definitions of securities and commodities under specified federal statutes. These exclusions concern qualifying payment stablecoins, not digital assets generally. (congress.gov)
Authorization and supervision
The framework permits issuance by authorized subsidiaries of insured banks and credit unions, federally qualified issuers, and state-qualified issuers. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) supervises federally qualified nonbank issuers; banking agencies supervise qualifying subsidiaries within their respective jurisdictions. (everycrsreport.com)
The state option reflects the division of responsibilities characteristic of federalism. A state-qualified issuer with no more than $10 billion in outstanding issuance may elect a state regime substantially similar to the federal framework. Above that threshold, transition requirements generally apply, although federal regulators may grant a waiver allowing continued state-only supervision. (govinfo.gov)
Supervisors may examine issuers, require reports, and take enforcement action, including stopping further issuance for violations. Publicly traded companies predominantly engaged in nonfinancial activities face additional approval requirements. (everycrsreport.com)
Reserves, redemption, and disclosure
The central backing requirement is identifiable reserves worth at least the outstanding amount of payment stablecoins. Eligible assets include cash, qualifying bank deposits, short-term United States Treasury obligations, and specified repurchase arrangements and money-market funds. Reserve assets are subject to restrictions on their use and reuse. (occ.gov)
This structure connects redemption obligations with asset quality and liquidity. The framework requires redemption policies and public disclosure of outstanding issuance and reserve composition. Monthly reserve reporting and examination requirements are distinct from annual financial-statement audits applicable to larger issuers; they should not be described interchangeably as monthly audits. (occ.gov)
Regulators must also establish requirements addressing capital, liquidity, operational risks, and risk management. The FDIC’s April 2026 implementing proposal covers these prudential requirements alongside redemption and custody standards for issuers under its supervision. (fdic.gov)
Holder protection and financial integrity
Payment stablecoins are not covered by federal deposit insurance. Regulation therefore does not make a stablecoin equivalent to an insured bank deposit. The law prohibits misleading representations of government backing and gives holders priority in an issuer’s bankruptcy. Custody provisions also restrict the commingling of customer assets with a custodian’s own funds. (everycrsreport.com)
Permitted issuers and foreign payment stablecoin issuers may not pay holders interest or yield solely for holding, using, or retaining a payment stablecoin. This statutory prohibition specifically addresses payments by issuers. (govinfo.gov)
The act subjects permitted issuers to anti-money-laundering obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and requires effective sanctions-compliance programs. On April 8, 2026, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a joint proposal implementing these requirements. (home.treasury.gov)
Foreign issuers
The act establishes conditions for foreign-issued stablecoins offered through digital-asset service providers in the United States. Treasury may establish reciprocal arrangements with jurisdictions having comparable regulatory regimes. Foreign access is therefore conditional on regulatory requirements and compliance with lawful orders, rather than automatically available to every overseas issuer. (everycrsreport.com)
Effective date and implementation
The general effective date is the earlier of January 18, 2027, eighteen months after enactment, or 120 days after the primary federal payment stablecoin regulators issue final implementing regulations. Enactment on July 18, 2025, did not itself mean that the entire framework immediately became operational. (govinfo.gov)
Implementation proceeded through separate agency rulemakings. The OCC announced its proposal on February 25, 2026; the FDIC approved a prudential proposal on April 7, 2026; and the Federal Reserve Board published its proposal on September 29, 2026. These documents are proposed rules, not final regulations, and their proposed details must be distinguished from requirements already contained in the statute. (occ.gov)
Regulatory boundaries
The framework retains distinctions between stablecoins, bank deposits, securities, and other digital assets. It does not replace every applicable financial law or resolve every question concerning digital-asset activities. The Federal Reserve’s September 2026 proposal explicitly acknowledged that additional regulations could require revision and that implementing rules might need updating as issuer business practices develop. (govinfo.gov)
References
- Public Law 119-27: Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Actgovinfo.gov
- Public Law 119-27congress.gov
- S. 1582 (ES): Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Actgovinfo.gov
- Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives: Roll Call 200clerk.house.gov
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Signs GENIUS Act into Lawwhitehouse.gov
- Stablecoin Legislation: An Overview of the GENIUS Act of 2025 (P.L. 119-27)everycrsreport.com
- Implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Actocc.gov
- OCC Requests Comments on Proposal to Implement GENIUS Actocc.gov
- FDIC Approves Proposal to Implement GENIUS Act Requirements and Standardsfdic.gov
- Treasury Proposes Rule to Implement the GENIUS Act’s Requirements to Counter Illicit Financehome.treasury.gov
- Implementing the Federal Reserve Board’s Responsibilities Under the GENIUS Act; Proposed Rulegovinfo.gov