The cryptocurrency sector frequently collaborates with bankers on high-priority regulatory initiatives. 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, enacted last year. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers have requested a 60-day extension for commenting on three GENIUS Act rule proposals, following the completion of another rule effort by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC's stablecoin issuer policing rule 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 bankers argue that all these efforts are contingent on the OCC's final framework and represent an exceptionally complex and broad regulatory undertaking. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, emphasize that their comments will be more comprehensive and useful to the agencies if they have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules together and against the finalized OCC framework.
Although the GENIUS Act is scheduled to be implemented by 2027, federal agencies often grant extensions for complex rule comment periods. The Treasury Department has not yet responded to the request for comment. The same bankers are also engaged in a debate with the crypto industry regarding stablecoins, which has delayed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for months and potentially jeopardized its chances of becoming law this year.