The cryptocurrency sector is witnessing increased involvement from banking institutions in regulatory matters, with a recent request by a coalition of bank trade associations to the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public comment period for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. This request, sent to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, seeks an extension of the comment period for three rule proposals under the GENIUS Act, asking for a minimum of 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) completes its rulemaking process.
The OCC's effort to regulate stablecoin issuers has significant implications for 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 banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, argue that the collective regulatory efforts represent a complex and extensive body of work, and that their comments will be more comprehensive and useful if they have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and against the finalized OCC framework.
The GENIUS Act, aimed to be in place by 2027, may see extensions of comment periods due to its complexity, a common practice among federal agencies. Meanwhile, the same banking groups are engaged in a stablecoin-related debate with the crypto industry, potentially delaying the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and jeopardizing its chances of becoming law this year.