The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has unveiled its proposed approach to regulating stablecoin issuers, a key step towards implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The proposal, which will be open to public comment for 60 days, outlines capital, liquidity, and custody standards for institutions issuing stablecoins from their subsidiaries. Stablecoins will not be eligible for deposit insurance, and issuers will be prohibited from representing that their tokens pay interest or yield simply for holding or using a payment stablecoin.
The FDIC's proposal aligns closely with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) earlier proposal, and is the second GENIUS Act proposal from the banking agency. The proposal also addresses the applicability of pass-through insurance to deposits held as reserves backing payment stablecoins, and suggests that tokenized deposits that satisfy the statutory definition of 'deposit' would be treated no differently than other deposits. As regulators work to implement the GENIUS Act, lawmakers are also debating the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which could potentially overhaul some of the details of the GENIUS Act.
The FDIC's proposal is a significant step towards providing clarity and regulatory certainty for stablecoin issuers, and will be closely watched by industry stakeholders.