Financial Institutions Request Delay in Implementing Stablecoin Regulatory Act

The cryptocurrency sector is witnessing increased involvement from bankers in high-priority regulatory endeavors. A coalition of bank trade associations has recently petitioned the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public consultation period for the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, enacted last year. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, US bankers are requesting a 60-day extension for commenting on three GENIUS Act rule proposals, following 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 regulations 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 by the FDIC. According to the bankers, all these efforts are contingent upon the OCC's final framework, and collectively represent a complex and extensive body of regulatory work. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, argue that having sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and against the finalized OCC framework will enable them to provide more comprehensive and useful comments to the agencies. The GENIUS Act is slated for implementation by 2027, although extensions for comment periods on complex rules are not uncommon. The Treasury Department has not responded to requests for comment on the bank industry's request. The same bankers are also engaged in a debate with the crypto industry regarding stablecoin regulation, which has delayed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for months and potentially jeopardized its passage into law this year.