US Banking Groups Push for Delay in Stablecoin Regulatory Implementation

The cryptocurrency sector is witnessing a significant presence of bankers in its key regulatory endeavors, 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 extended comment periods for three GENIUS Act rule proposals, preferably at least 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) concludes its rulemaking efforts. 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 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. They believe 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 federal agencies often grant extensions for complex rules. The Treasury Department has not yet responded to the bank industry's request. Meanwhile, the same bankers are engaged in a stablecoin-related debate with the crypto industry, which has delayed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for months and potentially jeopardized its chances of becoming law this year.