U.S. Treasury Proposes Rules on State Stablecoin Regimes Under GENIUS Act, April 2026

On April 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register establishing broad-based principles for determining when a state-level regulatory regime for payment stablecoins is "substantially similar" to the federal regulatory framework under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act). The rulemaking is at the proposed stage and is open for public comment. It was published at 91 FR 16844.

The controlling authority is section 4(c) of the GENIUS Act, which tasks Treasury with issuing regulations defining when state regimes qualify as substantially equivalent to federal standards. Treasury's NPRM proposes to define a "State-level regulatory regime" as all statutes enacted by a given state regarding payment stablecoins, together with any rules, regulations, orders, and supervisory guidance issued under those statutes. The NPRM sets out criteria covering reserve requirements, redemption rights, capital adequacy, anti-money laundering obligations, and supervisory oversight as the main pillars of comparison with the federal baseline.

Payment stablecoin issuers operating under state charters face the most direct impact. If a state regime qualifies as substantially similar under Treasury's criteria, issuers licensed in that state may operate without obtaining a separate federal license from one of the designated federal regulators — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Federal Reserve. Non-qualifying state regimes would require their issuers to seek federal authorization, increasing compliance obligations for firms relying exclusively on state charters.

The comment period under the Administrative Procedure Act runs from the April 3, 2026 publication date. The OCC published its own GENIUS Act implementing regulations separately at 91 FR 10202 on March 2, 2026. Both rulemakings remain pending and no final rule has been issued as of the date of this analysis.

Our firm advises on digital asset regulatory compliance, stablecoin licensing, and payment institution structuring across U.S. federal and state jurisdictions, and maintains a dedicated partner network for fintech and crypto regulatory matters. We are available to assist issuers, banks, and payment service providers in assessing compliance obligations under the GENIUS Act framework. Our practice covers work including payment stablecoin licensing, AML compliance, federal and state banking charter analysis, digital asset regulatory strategy, and crypto-asset legal advisory.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, "GENIUS Act Broad-Based Principles for Determining Whether a State-level Regulatory Regime Is Substantially Similar to the Federal Regulatory Framework," FR Document 2026-06489, 91 FR 16844 (April 3, 2026), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/03/ (Treasury press release: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0428, confirmed April 7, 2026).