US Treasury Issues Proposed Rules For GENIUS Act Stablecoin Framework, Launching 60-Day Review

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X that the rulemaking was aimed at ensuring that the U.S. remains “the crypto capital of the world."

• The U.S. Treasury opened a 60-day public comment period Monday on proposed rules for the GENIUS Act.
• This would lay the groundwork for a federal stablecoin regulatory framework with the law's January 2027 implementation in mind.
• It seeks to provide clarity around the U.S. issuance, offer, or sale of a stablecoin, and licensing requirements for domestic and foreign issuers.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday opened a 60-day public comment period on proposed rules to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, seeking to establish a federal framework for stablecoin issuers ahead of the law’s January 2027 effective date.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would define what it would mean to "issue a payment stablecoin in the United States" and to "offer or sell" a stablecoin to a person "in the United States," giving clarity on when issuers must get a GENIUS license and the conditions under which foreign-issued stablecoins can be sold to people in the United States.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X that the rulemaking was aimed at giving businesses "the regulatory certainty" they need "to innovate and grow in America, cement the role of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, and keep America the crypto capital of the world." Public comments on the NPRM are due within 60 days of Federal Register publication.

The GENIUS Act will go into effect on January 18, 2027, after which stablecoins can no longer be issued in the U.S. without a federal or state license. A second deadline of July 18, 2028, will prevent digital asset service providers from offering or selling any payment stablecoin unless it is issued by a licensed issuer.

Stablecoin Activity Accelerates

The rulemaking comes as activity in US-linked stablecoins picks up. The GENIUS Act stands to benefit major stablecoin firms like Circle’s (CRCL) USDC and Tether’s USDT among others, which could remove regulatory uncertainty and establish a proper legal framework for fast tracking institutional adoption. 

For instance, on Monday, Ripple (XRP) minted 10 million Ripple USD (RLUSD) tokens on the XRP Ledger, pushing the circulating supply of the stablecoin to about 1.71 billion. RLUSD uses BNY Mellon (BNY) as a custody provider for its USD reserve.  

RLUSD’s price was trading flat over the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around RLUSD moved to ‘bearish’ from the ‘neutral’ zone, while chatter around it stayed at ‘high’ levels over the past day.

Crypto Policy Week In Washington

The Treasury's proposal also came ahead of a busy week for crypto policy. The White House is scheduled to host executives from Coinbase Global (COIN), Ripple, Polymarket and Gemini (GEMI) on Wednesday. A separate bill, the Digital Market Asset Clarity Act (CLARITY), remains pending in the Senate, which is likely to be considered it next month when legislators return from the August recess.

The GENIUS Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025, establishing the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States.

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