OCC Finalizes Stablecoin Rules as Bessent Invokes 1863 Banking Law

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued its final rule implementing the GENIUS Act. That is the federal law that decides who may issue a payment stablecoin in the US. The rule and the law both take effect on January 18, 2027, according to the OCC's news release.

For a holder, the rule is about who stands behind the token. The Act "generally prohibits any person other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States," the OCC bulletin says. For the firms the OCC oversees, this rule sets what being permitted involves. That includes how reserves back a coin and how redemption works.

Bessent Points to Lincoln's National Currency Act

Treasury Secretary Bessent welcomed the rule in a statement carried in the OCC's release. He called the GENIUS Act a "watershed moment in American finance." That moment, he said, is "further cementing the United States as the crypto capital of the world."

He reached back more than 160 years for a comparison. President Abraham Lincoln's National Currency Act of 1863, he said, "established a national framework for bank-issued currency." The GENIUS Act "establishes a federal framework for payment stablecoins in the digital age."

He said the rule provides "a clear, practical foundation for private-sector innovation, competition, and American leadership in digital assets."

Comptroller Jonathan Gould used almost the same words. He called it "a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation." He also pointed to "strong standards for reserve backing, redemption, and risk management." Gould said the rule "advances President Trump and Secretary Bessent's vision for American leadership in digital assets."

Both men are describing their own administration's rule. The praise is not an outside verdict.

Who Has to Follow the Rule

The rule covers issuers under the OCC's jurisdiction:

• National banks and their subsidiaries
• Federal savings associations and their subsidiaries
• Federal branches and their subsidiaries
• Foreign payment stablecoin issuers
• Nonbank firms that are, or want to be, approved as federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers
• Certain state qualified issuers

What Sits in the New 12 CFR 15

Most of the requirements go into a new section of federal regulations, 12 CFR 15. The bulletin lists what it covers:

• Permitted activities
• Reserve assets
• Redemption
• Risk management
• Custody
• Applications
• Supervision of foreign issuers
• A capital and operational backstop

The rule also revises the OCC's capital adequacy standards in 12 CFR 3, its prompt corrective action rules in 12 CFR 6, and its fee and procedure rules.

The summary names these topics but not the figures. Which assets count as reserves is set in the full rule text. So is how fast an issuer must pay out a redemption. Those details are not covered here.

One area is left out on purpose. Rules on the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions are not in this rule. They "will be addressed in a separate rulemaking in coordination with the Department of the Treasury," the bulletin says. Issuers will get a second set of rules on sanctions and illicit finance later.

No Date Yet for Issuer Applications

The OCC proposed these rules on February 25, 2026. It said it received "hundreds of comments" from crypto firms, community bankers, trade groups and academics before finalizing them.

Alongside the rule, the agency issued Bulletin 2026-51 on waivers and application guidance. It also issued Bulletin 2026-52 on reporting forms for issuers.

It has not said when it will start taking applications. The OCC says it "will announce in a separate news release" when it begins "accepting and processing applications and waiver requests from prospective permitted payment stablecoin issuers."

The agency also said it will "closely monitor" the industry and adjust the framework "to the extent necessary."

With the law taking effect on January 18, 2027, the date to watch is the one the OCC has not yet set. Until applications open, no issuer can begin the approval process. The list of permitted issuers stays empty.