The cryptocurrency sector is witnessing bankers taking an active role in shaping regulatory frameworks, with a coalition of bank trade associations recently requesting the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public consultation period for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers are seeking an extension of the comment period for three GENIUS Act rule proposals, asking for 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 stablecoin issuer policing 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 contingent on the OCC's final framework and represent a complex body of regulatory work. The American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, among other banking organizations, have stated that their comments will be more comprehensive and useful to the agencies if they have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and against the finalized OCC framework. The GENIUS Act is slated to be implemented by 2027, although federal agencies often grant extensions for complex rules.
The Treasury Department has not responded to requests 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.