Cryptoupdated 1h ago3 min read
OCC Issues Final GENIUS Act Rule, Tightens Stablecoin Rewards Oversight for Exchanges
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OCC issued final GENIUS Act rule requiring sign-off for stablecoin reward programs. Rule takes effect Jan 18, 2027; existing issuers pending can seek temporary waivers.
8 outlets told this the same way.
GENIUS Yield Ban
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule on Wednesday to establish regulations under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, including rules for how firms that issue dollar-based tokens will operate in their third-party relationships with exchanges.
The OCC said the GENIUS Act declared that payments to customers made "solely in connection with the holding, use, or retention of such payment stablecoin" won't be allowed, and the agency declined to offer examples or illustrations of what type of rewards operations may run afoul of that prohibition.
The OCC said the industry will have to test the agency's case-by-case oversight because "The industry, which won't get any safe harbors for existing programs" will not receive special treatment for pre-existing rewards programs.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the OCC's final rule carries "that landmark legislation forward, providing a clear, practical foundation for private-sector innovation, competition, and American leadership in digital assets," while the rule is set to go live on January 18.
The OCC said it "will apply the language of the statute to the facts and circumstances of any particular arrangement," and it suggested that the word "solely" carries weight, so a reward "might be made, at least in part, for other reasons" would fall outside the ban.
Waivers and Timing
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued OCC Bulletin 2026-51 on October 21, 2026 to clarify the process for filing applications and requesting waivers under the GENIUS Act. The OCC said that beginning on January 18, 2027, a person generally must be approved as a permitted payment stablecoin issuer to issue a payment stablecoin in the United States, and it added that issuing a payment stablecoin without being a permitted payment stablecoin issuer carries criminal penalties. The OCC said the GENIUS Act does not incorporate a compliance implementation process for existing payment stablecoin issuers currently operating in the United States, and it pointed to section 5(f) of the GENIUS Act as the basis for waivers.
The OCC said the primary federal payment stablecoin issuer may waive requirements for a period not to exceed 12 months beginning on January 18, 2027, and it said the final rule incorporates this safe harbor through section 15.30(g). The OCC said it generally expects to grant requests for waivers from the Prior Approval Requirement for existing issuers currently operating in the United States unless the OCC's review identifies more compelling reasons to deny the request.
Who Must Comply
The Bank Policy Institute urged Treasury and other agencies to coordinate across all rulemakings under the GENIUS Act, arguing that regulations should preserve the benefits of payment stablecoins for their intended use in payments and settlements without causing undue and unnecessary risks for consumers, other stablecoin holders or users, competition, credit availability, illicit finance, or financial stability. The Defense Credit Union Council told Treasury that the final rule should clearly distinguish between activities that involve issuing or distributing a payment stablecoin and activities that merely support a payment, custody, or other financial service, and it said the final rule should clarify that providing ordinary banking, payment, custody, or technology services does not alone make a credit union an issuer. The Blockchain Association asked Treasury to narrow the GENIUS Act rule on who can sell stablecoins by seeking "clearer lines so the final rule matches what Congress wrote," and it argued that the standard should require actual knowledge of the underlying facts that make an issuance unlawful.
The Blockchain Association also asked Treasury to ensure the provision "does not, in practice, accelerate the July 18, 2028, compliance date" Congress gave DASPs, and it proposed a geography standard based on actual knowledge and information reasonably obtained in the ordinary course of a transaction. The Blockchain Association said the DASP label should apply to service providers alone and that Treasury should honor carve-outs Congress wrote for self-custody software, validators and liquidity pools, calling those exclusions "reflect a deliberate congressional judgment" that such public blockchain infrastructure is not a service provider.