US Banks Request Delay in Implementation of Stablecoin Regulations Under GENIUS Act

The cryptocurrency industry often finds itself at odds with bankers over regulatory efforts, and this time, a coalition of bank trade associations is requesting that the US Department of the Treasury extend the public comment period for implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. In a letter to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers are asking for an extension of the comment period for three GENIUS Act rule proposals, with a minimum of 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalizes its rule for policing stablecoin issuers. The OCC's rule is crucial to 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. The bankers argue that all these efforts are directly contingent on the OCC's final framework and represent a complex body of regulatory work. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, believe that having sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and against the finalized OCC framework will allow them to provide more comprehensive and useful comments to the agencies. The GENIUS Act is scheduled to be implemented by 2027, but federal agencies often grant extensions for complex rules. The Treasury Department has not responded to a request for comment on the bank industry's request. Meanwhile, the same bankers are engaged in a debate with the crypto industry over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which has been delayed for months and may not become law this year.