The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has formally unveiled its proposed approach to regulating stablecoin issuers, a crucial step in implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act. The proposal, which aligns with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's earlier suggestion, will be open to public comment for 60 days, during which time the agency will gather feedback on its 144 questions. The FDIC's primary role is to regulate US depository institutions, and under the GENIUS Act, it will oversee these institutions' issuance of stablecoins through their subsidiaries.
The agency has proposed capital, liquidity, and custody standards for these firms, although the specifics will be finalized after the public comment period. As expected, stablecoins will not be eligible for deposit insurance, which is typically maintained by banks for traditional accounts.
The proposal also addresses concerns around rewards programs managed by third-party stablecoin relationships, such as exchanges, and suggests that issuers will need to maintain capital to manage business risks, as well as an operational backstop. Furthermore, the agency has proposed that tokenized deposits that meet the statutory definition of 'deposit' will be treated similarly to other deposits. While regulators work to implement the GENIUS Act, lawmakers are simultaneously debating the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which may potentially overhaul some of the GENIUS Act's details.
The regulatory process is expected to continue, with the Treasury Department and markets regulators involved in crafting the rules.