U.S. Treasury Issues First GENIUS Act NPRM for Stablecoin Regulation

• Treasury has issued its first GENIUS Act NPRM, defining rules for state oversight of U.S. Stablecoins.
• The GENIUS Act enables small issuers with under $10B in assets to opt into qualifying state regimes rather than federal rules.
• The 60-day comment period will shape final rules balancing federal standards with state flexibility.

On April 1, 2026, The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its first notice of proposed rulemaking under the GENIUS Act, opening a 60-day public comment period. The proposal outlines how states can regulate smaller stablecoin issuers under frameworks aligned with federal standards.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued an NPRM seeking public comment on its implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The NPRM is the first regulation the Treasury has proposed to implement the GENIUS Act.

Enacted on July 18, 2025, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act establishes a framework mandating 1:1 reserve backing with liquid assets, monthly disclosures, and compliance with AML and sanctions requirements, while allowing smaller issuers to opt into qualifying state oversight.

Therefore, the GENIUS Act requires the Treasury to use notice-and-comment rulemaking to develop overarching principles for evaluating whether a state regulatory system aligns closely with the federal framework established under the GENIUS Act.

The GENIUS Act establishes a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers while allowing smaller issuers to opt into state oversight.

Under Section 4(c)(1), issuers with total outstanding issuance of $10 billion or less may choose to operate under a state regulatory regime, provided the state framework is certified as substantially similar to the federal framework.

Once a state regime is certified, including approval by the relevant interagency body that it meets or exceeds Section 4(a) standards, qualifying issuers may operate under state oversight. They remain subject to core federal requirements, including 100% reserves in high-quality liquid assets, on-demand par redemption, Bank Secrecy Act registration, AML CFT and sanctions compliance, and public disclosures.

The NPRM invites public comments within 60 days of Federal Register publication, following a September 2025 advance notice, with input viewable at regulations.gov to shape final implementation rules.

As of April 1, 2026, the stablecoin market totals $310 billion, with 391 coins and 24-hour trading volume above $97 billion, according to CoinGecko. Tether (USDT) and USDC dominate at $184 billion and $77 billion, respectively, exceeding the $10 billion threshold and leaving the NPRM focused on smaller issuers under state-level oversight.

By providing regulatory certainty in the $310 billion stablecoin market, the GENIUS Act and NPRM protect consumers and stability while allowing smaller issuers to grow and major players to meet federal standards.

The OCC, FDIC, and NCUA continue rulemakings to build the GENIUS Act framework. Full implementation in late 2026 or early 2027 could support broader adoption and new digital-asset use cases.

Related:US Stablecoin Market Surges as GENIUS Act Implementation Begins