What is the GENIUS Act?

The GENIUS Act is the US law that regulates payment stablecoins, which are crypto tokens designed to hold a fixed value, usually one dollar. It was signed on July 18, 2025. Its full name is the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act.

Who can issue a stablecoin?

Once the law is in force, only a "permitted payment stablecoin issuer" may issue one in the United States. There are three routes:

• a subsidiary of an insured bank or credit union,
• a nonbank company approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a federal bank regulator,
• a company approved by a state regulator.

The state route is for smaller issuers. Under an interim Treasury rule published on September 30, 2026, an issuer with $10 billion or less in coins outstanding can stay under state supervision if the state's regime has been certified as substantially similar to the federal one.

What must issuers do?

• Reserves. Hold at least one dollar of safe, liquid assets, such as cash, bank deposits and short-term Treasury debt, for every dollar of coins issued.
• Redemption. Buy coins back at face value on request.
• Disclosure. Report on the reserves every month.
• No interest. The issuer may not pay holders interest or yield simply for holding the coin.
• Crime controls. Issuers are treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act, so anti-money-laundering rules apply.

Regulators say a stablecoin from a permitted issuer is not a security. For how the tokens work, see What is a stablecoin? and USDT vs USDC.

Is the law in force yet?

Not fully, as of October 2026. The Act takes effect on January 18, 2027, or 120 days after regulators issue final rules, whichever comes first. Agencies had until July 18, 2026 to finish those rules and missed the date, according to industry trackers.

The OCC published its main proposal in March 2026. Comptroller Jonathan Gould said in August that he aimed to finalize it by November, PYMNTS reported. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the credit union regulator have issued proposals too.

Exchanges and other service providers have until July 2028 before they are barred from offering stablecoins that lack a permitted issuer.

What do critics say?

Banks argue the interest ban has a gap. An issuer cannot pay interest, but a crypto platform may be able to pay customers rewards on stablecoin balances, which banks say could pull deposits away from them. That dispute carried into the Senate's debate on the CLARITY Act.

A reserve rule reduces the risk of a run on a stablecoin but does not remove it, and holders are not covered by deposit insurance.

Rules differ by country and state and change often. Check the regulator's website or a qualified professional for a specific case.