US Banking Groups Push for Delay in Implementing Stablecoin Regulatory Framework

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 has petitioned the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public comment 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 Corporation this week, US bankers have requested that three separate GENIUS Act rule proposals be granted extended comment periods, lasting at least 60 days after the completion of another rulemaking effort at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC's push to implement its rule for policing stablecoin issuers has significant implications for the outcome of other regulations being pursued at the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, 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, in addition to proposals that have yet to emerge from the Federal Reserve and other agencies, 'represent a body of regulatory work of extraordinary scope and complexity.' The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, argue 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 be in place by 2027, although it is not uncommon for federal agencies to grant extensions for complex rule comment periods. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bank industry's request. The same bankers are also engaged in a stablecoin-related debate with the crypto industry that has so far managed to delay the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for months, potentially jeopardizing its chances of becoming law this year.