US agencies miss GENIUS Act deadline for final stablecoin rules

US regulatory agencies have missed the statutory deadline to issue final rules under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 18, 2025. Although the act set a one-year timeline, ending on the recent Saturday, no final regulations were released despite several proposed rules and public feedback collected throughout the year. The main agencies involved include the Department of the Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Federal Reserve Board, all of which issued proposed rules but failed to finalize them by the deadline.

During this first year under the GENIUS Act, federal regulators issued a total of 10 notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs). The Treasury Department contributed four proposals focused on key implementation areas such as standards for assessing state stablecoin regulatory regimes, registration of foreign stablecoin issuers, and anti-money laundering compliance. The OCC issued two NPRMs addressing payment stablecoin issuers with national charters, and the FDIC issued one NPRM concerning operational and supervisory standards for FDIC-supervised institutions issuing payment stablecoins. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) also proposed rules allowing federally insured credit unions to engage in stablecoin issuance. In addition, federal banking agencies jointly proposed a rule aiming to harmonize supervision across the OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC to establish consistent regulatory expectations.

Missing the deadline does not nullify the GENIUS Act itself but is expected to create regulatory uncertainty for stablecoin issuers because the final regulatory framework remains incomplete. This delay matters as the GENIUS Act was designed to be the first comprehensive federal stablecoin regulatory framework in the United States. Meanwhile, federally chartered crypto bank Anchorage Digital called on Congress to pass the related Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act), which would extend clear market structure rules to the broader digital asset sector. The CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee in May but faces opposition, particularly over stablecoin yield provisions, from banking groups like the American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America.

State banking associations have expressed concerns about the CLARITY Act allowing crypto firms to offer yields on stablecoins without the same requirements traditional banks face, warning that stablecoins might function as deposit substitutes rather than just payment tools. Furthermore, Galaxy Digital recently downgraded the likelihood of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 to 50%, citing a lack of unified text between Senate committees, no clear Senate floor schedule, and a shrinking legislative window before lawmakers depart Washington for the year.