The U.S. Department of the Treasury published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 18 August 2026, Federal Register document 2026-16796, implementing Section 3 of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (the GENIUS Act). The proposed rule is at the proposed-rulemaking stage; a public comment period closes on 19 October 2026.
Section 3 of the GENIUS Act imposes two sequential prohibitions on payment stablecoin activity in the United States. Beginning 18 January 2027, the Act's expected effective date, a person generally may not issue a payment stablecoin in the United States without holding a federal or state license as a permitted payment stablecoin issuer. Beginning 18 July 2028, digital asset service providers generally may not offer or sell payment stablecoins to persons in the United States unless those stablecoins are issued by a licensed permitted payment stablecoin issuer.
The proposed rule directly affects stablecoin issuers, whether bank-affiliated, non-bank, or foreign institutions seeking to serve U.S. customers, and digital asset service providers including exchanges, brokers, and custodial wallet operators. Treasury's proposal specifies when an issuer must obtain a GENIUS license and the conditions under which payment stablecoins may be offered or sold in U.S. markets. Foreign issuers must determine whether they fall within the licensing pathway set out in the proposed rule to continue distributing stablecoins to U.S. persons.
A parallel Treasury NPRM addresses conditions for state-regulated payment stablecoin issuers to qualify as permitted under the GENIUS Act, creating a state licensing track alongside the federal pathway. A separate proposed rule from Treasury and financial regulators covers customer identification program requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers under anti-money laundering obligations applicable from the Act's effective date.
Licentium advises on digital asset regulatory compliance and may assist stablecoin issuers, digital asset service providers, and foreign institutions assessing their exposure under the GENIUS Act. Work we undertake includes payment stablecoin licensing assessments, GENIUS Act compliance program design, AML and know-your-customer structuring for crypto-asset businesses, and cross-border regulatory analysis for U.S. market access.