The cryptocurrency sector is witnessing bankers playing a pivotal role in its key regulatory endeavors, with a coalition of bank trade associations recently petitioning the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public consultation period for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, enacted last year. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers are requesting a minimum 60-day extension for commenting on three distinct GENIUS Act rule proposals, to commence after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) concludes its rulemaking process. The OCC's efforts to establish a framework for regulating stablecoin issuers will significantly impact the outcome of other rules being developed by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as well as a related rulemaking at the FDIC.
According to the bankers, all these efforts are 'directly contingent on the OCC's final framework.' The collective regulatory endeavors, including proposals yet to emerge from the Federal Reserve and other agencies, represent a complex and extensive body of work. The banking organizations, comprising the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, argue that having sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules in conjunction with the finalized OCC framework will enable them to provide more comprehensive and useful comments to the agencies. The GENIUS Act is slated for implementation by 2027, although federal agencies often grant extensions for complex rulemaking processes. The Treasury Department has not responded to requests for comment on the banking industry's petition.
Meanwhile, the same bankers are engaged in a stablecoin-related dispute with the cryptocurrency sector, which has already delayed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for several months and may jeopardize its potential for becoming law this year.