The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has formally proposed its approach to regulating stablecoin issuers, marking a significant step towards establishing federal rules for the industry. The proposal, which aligns with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) earlier proposal, will be open for public comment for 60 days.
The FDIC's role is to regulate US depository institutions that issue stablecoins from their subsidiaries, and the proposal outlines capital, liquidity, and custody standards for these firms. However, the details will not be finalized until the agency reviews input and writes the final language.
As expected, stablecoins will not be eligible for deposit insurance, and issuers will not be able to offer interest or yield simply for holding or using a payment stablecoin. The proposal also suggests that issuers will need to maintain capital to manage business risks, as well as an operational backstop. The FDIC has 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, some details may be subject to change due to the ongoing debate over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the Senate.