The cryptocurrency sector often finds itself at the forefront of bankers' regulatory efforts, and this time, a coalition of bank trade associations has requested that the US Department of the Treasury extend the public consultation period for the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, passed last year. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers are seeking extended comment periods for three GENIUS Act rule proposals, requesting a minimum of 60 days after the completion of another rulemaking effort by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
The OCC's push to implement its rule for overseeing stablecoin issuers has significant implications for the outcome of other rules being pursued 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 that the collective regulatory work is of 'extraordinary scope and complexity'. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, stated that their comments 'will necessarily be more comprehensive, and therefore more useful to the agencies, if we have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and to evaluate each against the finalized OCC framework'.
The GENIUS Act is slated to come into effect by 2027, although it is not uncommon for federal agencies to grant extensions for comment periods on complex rules. The Treasury Department has not immediately responded to a request for comment on the bank industry's request.
Meanwhile, the same bankers are engaged in a stablecoin-related debate with the crypto industry, which has already led to a months-long delay in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and potentially jeopardized its chances of becoming law this year.