The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has formally proposed its approach to regulating stablecoin issuers, as required by the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act. The proposal, which aligns with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposal in February, will be open for public comment for 60 days. The FDIC has posed 144 questions to gather input on the proposed rule, which aims to establish capital, liquidity, and custody standards for firms issuing stablecoins.
The proposal also clarifies that stablecoins will not be eligible for deposit insurance, and issuers will not be able to offer interest or yield on their tokens simply for holding or using them. The FDIC's proposal suggests that issuers will need to maintain capital to manage business risks, as well as an operational backstop based on previous year's operating expenses. The agency has also addressed the applicability of pass-through insurance to deposits held as reserves backing payment stablecoins, proposing that tokenized deposits be treated similarly to other deposits.
While regulators work to implement the GENIUS Act, lawmakers are close to resolving a debate over yield-bearing stablecoin holdings, and the Senate's Digital Asset Market Clarity Act may potentially overhaul some of the details. The regulatory agencies involved in implementing the rule have few impediments in crafting regulations, but the GENIUS Act itself had drawn significant bipartisan support in Congress.