The GENIUS Act Clock Is Ticking: Six US Agencies Have 35 Days to Finalize Stablecoin Rules

Six US agencies face a July 18 finalization deadline

Six federal bodies must finalize rules implementing the GENIUS Act by July 18, 2026. The group covers the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). It also includes the Treasury, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The deadline falls exactly one year after Congress enacted the law. Each agency now works against the same clock. All major comment periods have closed, and the most recent window, which covered FinCEN and OFAC measures, ended on June 9, 2026.

The OCC proposed a $5 million minimum capital floor

In March 2026, the OCC proposed rules under 12 CFR Part 15 to govern payment stablecoin issuers. The framework marks the first comprehensive federal implementing rule under the GENIUS Act. It sets a $5 million minimum capital floor for new issuers. The OCC published the notice in the Federal Register on March 2, 2026, which opened a 60-day comment window. That comment period closed on May 1, 2026. The NCUA issued its own draft rules in February 2026, while the FDIC and the Treasury published proposals in April 2026.

Reserve rules require immediate liquidity for issuers

The OCC proposal also sets reserve standards for issuers. It requires them to hold at least 10% of reserve assets as immediately available liquidity. Eligible forms include demand deposits or funds held at a Federal Reserve Bank. Larger issuers face an added requirement. Those with at least $25 billion in stablecoin issuance must hold a minimum amount of insured deposit reserves. That floor is set at 0.5% of reserve assets, up to a $500 million cap.

The GENIUS Act passed with broad bipartisan support

Congress passed the GENIUS Act with a 68-30 Senate vote and a 308-122 House vote. In the Senate, 18 Democrats joined 50 Republicans. In the House, 102 Democrats joined 206 Republicans. The law was signed on July 18, 2025. It ranks as the most significant US law to date affecting digital assets. It classifies compliant stablecoins as neither securities nor commodities, which keeps them outside primary Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jurisdiction.

Stablecoin market sits near record levels

Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin, traded at $1.00 on June 17, 2026, with a market cap of $186.5 billion (NewsFlash, 17 June 2026). The broader stablecoin market sits near $320 billion. That scale keeps the rulemaking under close watch across the industry. The final standards will set capital and reserve rules for the firms behind those tokens.

Compliance window opens after the July deadline

The GENIUS Act takes effect on January 18, 2027, or 120 days after final rules are issued, whichever comes first. Issuers then face a compliance window of roughly 120 days from the finalization date. The schedule gives the market a fixed timeline to meet the new federal standards before the law takes full effect.

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