The cryptocurrency sector often finds itself intertwined with banking interests in high-priority regulatory matters. Recently, a coalition of bank trade associations has 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, which was passed last year. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers are requesting that the comment periods for three separate rule proposals under the GENIUS Act be extended to at least 60 days after the completion of another rulemaking effort at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The OCC's initiative to establish a framework for policing stablecoin issuers has significant implications for the outcomes 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" and, together with forthcoming regulatory proposals from the Federal Reserve and other agencies, represent a vast and complex body of regulatory work. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, argue that their comments will be more comprehensive and useful to the agencies if they have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules collectively and in relation to 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 engaged in a debate with the crypto industry regarding stablecoins, which has already led to months of delay in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and potentially jeopardized its prospects of becoming law this year.