The U.S. Treasury said FinCEN and OFAC have issued a joint proposed rule to implement parts of the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin payments law enacted in July 2025. The proposal would require U.S. payment stablecoin issuers to adopt controls intended to curb illicit finance.
Under the draft rule, stablecoin issuers would be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and must establish and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) program, a sanctions compliance program, and technical and operational capabilities to block, freeze, or reject certain stablecoin transactions.
“Bringing stablecoin issuers into full BSA/OFAC compliance effectively turns them into bank-like gatekeepers,” said Snir Levi, CEO of blockchain intelligence firm Nominis. “That means significantly more wallet freezes, transaction blocking and asset seizures at scale.”
The GENIUS Act created a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers and is expected by some market participants to support crypto market growth. The law becomes effective 18 months after enactment in July 2025 or 120 days after federal authorities issue related regulations, whichever is later.
Separately, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released its own proposed rule implementing parts of the GENIUS Act. The FDIC draft clarifies that stablecoin holders themselves would not be covered by deposit insurance under the law, while reserve deposits held by issuers could receive protection.
Broader digital-asset legislation has not advanced in Congress. The CLARITY Act, which passed the House last year, remains stalled in the Senate; the Senate Banking Committee has not scheduled a required markup, delaying a full Senate vote. In the interim, industry representatives from crypto and banking have been meeting with White House officials to discuss issues including stablecoin yields, tokenized equities and ethical considerations.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers has criticized a proposed ban on stablecoin yield contained in the CLARITY Act, saying it “would do very little to protect bank lending” and could impose costs on users.
This report is intended to summarize the proposed regulatory steps and concurrent policy developments. Readers are encouraged to review primary sources and official agency notices for the full text of proposed rules and policymaker statements.