The cryptocurrency sector often finds itself at odds with banking interests in high-stakes regulatory battles, and this time, a coalition of bank trade associations is urging the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public consultation 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 Corporation, US bankers are requesting that the comment periods for three GENIUS Act rule proposals be extended to at least 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) completes its rulemaking process.
The OCC's efforts to establish a framework for overseeing stablecoin issuers have significant implications for 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 that the collective regulatory work is of 'extraordinary scope and complexity'. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, claim that their comments will be more comprehensive and useful to the agencies if they have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and assess each against the finalized OCC framework. The GENIUS Act is scheduled to come into effect by 2027, although it is not uncommon for federal agencies to grant extensions for complex rulemaking processes.
The Treasury Department has not yet 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 stablecoin regulation, which has already delayed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for months and may jeopardize its chances of becoming law this year.