One Year After US GENIUS Act, Stablecoin Rules Still Unfinished

One year after the GENIUS Act took effect as the first legal foundation for US stablecoin regulation, the detailed rules needed to enforce it still have not been completed.

CoinDesk reported on July 19 that the GENIUS Act, signed by President Donald Trump last year, was the first federal law in US history to directly address digital assets, or cryptocurrencies. It set out a broad framework for reserve management, governance and operating standards for stablecoin issuers. But detailed rulemaking was left to agencies including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and those rules are still being drafted.

A year later, regulators are releasing proposals and soliciting public comment. The FDIC disclosed 144 questions several months ago on supervision of stablecoin issuers, including standards for custody, capital and liquidity. The OCC issued its own interpretive proposal in February. Regulators have also proposed requiring stablecoin issuers to meet know-your-customer obligations comparable to those applied to traditional financial firms. Final rules are still months away.

Jihoon Kim, chief executive officer of the Crypto Council for Innovation, called passage of the GENIUS Act a historic moment in an emailed statement. One year on, institutions, companies and innovators are operating on a clearer foundation, he wrote, and stablecoins are rapidly moving into the mainstream.

Meanwhile, debate over the Clarity Act, which would govern the broader digital-asset market, remains at a standstill. Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree on ethics provisions that would limit crypto-related income for senior public officials. Senator Elizabeth Warren said Trump's 2025 disclosure showed he earned more than $1.4 billion from various crypto businesses, and she urged him to voluntarily submit a financial disclosure for the first half of 2026.

Representative Bryan Steil, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee's digital assets subcommittee, said in opening remarks at a subcommittee hearing that the goal was clear: replace regulation by enforcement with clear digital-asset rules.