The cryptocurrency sector is once again seeing bankers at the forefront of its key regulatory endeavors. 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, which was passed last year. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, US bankers are seeking an extension of the comment periods for three separate rule proposals under the GENIUS Act, with 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. According to the bankers, all these efforts are 'directly contingent on the OCC's final framework.' The collective endeavors, including regulatory proposals yet to emerge from the Federal Reserve and other agencies, 'represent a body of regulatory work of extraordinary scope and complexity.' The banking organizations, which include 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 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. The same bankers are also involved in a stablecoin-related debate with the crypto industry, which has so far managed to delay the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for months and potentially jeopardize its chances of becoming law this year.