GENIUS Act

IntroducedMay 1, 2025

Became Law1 year ago

Intro

Senate

House

Pres

Became Public Law No: 119-27.

Finance and Financial SectorAdministrative law and regulatory proceduresCongressional oversightDigital mediaGovernment studies and investigationsBank accounts, deposits, capitalBanking and financial institutions regulationJudicial procedure and administrationCivil actions and liabilityFinancial services and investmentsFraud offenses and financial crimesCurrencyAccounting and auditingInternational monetary system and foreign exchangeInterest, dividends, interest ratesBusiness recordsBankruptcyDepartment of the TreasuryFinancial crises and stabilizationJudicial review and appeals

Why This Matters

This law creates a federal framework to regulate payment stablecoins, digital tokens designed to keep a stable value for payments. It sets rules on who can issue them, how they must be backed by reserves, and how they must be supervised and protected.

Who this affects

Payment stablecoin issuers · Digital asset service providers · Federal regulators · State regulators

What changes is this bill making?

1Only approved entities called permitted payment stablecoin issuers may create payment stablecoins in the United States and others are barred from issuing, offering, or selling them.
2Issuers must back each stablecoin 1:1 with liquid assets such as U.S. currency, bank deposits, or short-term government securities. They must publish clear redemption policies, fees, and a monthly breakdown of reserves on their websites.
3Federal and State regulators, led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators, will license, examine, and supervise issuers. Regulators will set capital, liquidity, risk management, and technology standards and conduct audits.
4Issuers are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and economic sanctions laws. They must block or freeze coins under lawful orders, maintain anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, and report suspicious activity.
5Issuers cannot pay interest on stablecoins or use misleading names suggesting government backing. Stablecoin holders’ claims to reserves rank ahead of other creditors in insolvency, and redemption from reserves is protected under bankruptcy rules.
6State regulators may supervise smaller issuers under similar State regimes certified by a federal-State committee. The law also provides for reciprocal treatment of foreign stablecoin issuers from jurisdictions with comparable rules.
7The law clarifies that payment stablecoins are not securities or commodities and that stablecoin issuers are not treated as investment companies under U.S. securities and commodities laws.

Read the detailed summary

Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act or the GENIUS Act This bill establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins (digital assets which an issuer must redeem for a fixed value). Under the bill, only permitted issuers may issue a payment stablecoin for use by U.S. persons, subject to certain exceptions and safe harbors. Permitted issuers must be a subsidiary of an insured depository institution, a federal-qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuer, or a state-qualified payment stablecoin issuer. Permitted issuers must be regulated by the appropriate federal or state regulator. Permitted issuers may choose federal or state regulation; however, state regulation is limited to those with a stablecoin issuance of $10 billion or less. Permitted issuers must maintain reserves backing the stablecoin on a one-to-one basis using U.S. currency or other similarly liquid assets, as specified. Permitted issuers must also publicly disclose their redemption policy and publish monthly the details of their reserves. The bill specifies requirements for (1) reusing reserves; (2) providing safekeeping services for stablecoins; and (3) supervisory, examination, and enforcement authority over federal-qualified issuers. The bill allows foreign issuers of stablecoins to offer, sell, or make available in the United States stablecoins using digital asset service providers, subject to requirements, including a determination by the Department of Treasury that they are subject to comparable foreign regulations. Under the bill, permitted payment stablecoins are not considered securities under securities law. However, permitted issuers are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act for anti-money laundering and related purposes.

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