The GENIUS Act, explained
The GENIUS Act, signed July 18, 2025, sets a federal framework for payment stablecoins. It takes effect by January 18, 2027 at the latest. The OCC adopted its implementing rule on October 21, 2026; the other agencies' rules are proposed and not final.
Key dates
GENIUS Act signed into law (Public Law 119-27). Congress.gov,
FinCEN and OFAC propose AML and sanctions program rules for permitted issuers. FinCEN,
FinCEN and the banking agencies propose customer identification program rules. FinCEN,
Treasury proposes rules on when a stablecoin is issued, offered, or sold in the United States. U.S. Treasury,
The OCC adopts its final rule implementing the Act for the issuers it supervises, effective January 18, 2027. OCC,
Latest date the Act takes effect: the earlier of this date or 120 days after final rules. Congress.gov,
Reserves and disclosure
A permitted issuer must back its outstanding payment stablecoins at least one to one with listed reserves: U.S. currency and Federal Reserve balances, insured deposits, Treasury bills, notes, or bonds with 93 days or less to maturity, overnight repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements backed by such Treasuries, registered government money market funds holding only these, other similarly liquid federal assets a regulator approves, and tokenized forms of these. (Congress.gov, )
The issuer must publish the composition of its reserves and the total outstanding every month. The monthly report is examined by a registered public accounting firm, and the CEO and CFO certify it. (Congress.gov, )
Issuers may not pay holders interest or yield solely for holding the stablecoin. (Congress.gov, )
AML, sanctions, and lawful orders
Permitted issuers are treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act. They need AML and sanctions programs, and the technical ability to seize, freeze, burn, or prevent transfers of their stablecoins when a lawful order requires it. (Congress.gov, )
FinCEN and OFAC proposed rules for these AML and sanctions programs on April 8, 2026. A separate customer identification program rule was proposed on June 18, 2026 by FinCEN with the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, and the NCUA. Neither is final. (FinCEN, ; FinCEN, )
Who it applies to, and when
The Act takes effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027 (18 months after enactment) or 120 days after the regulators issue final rules. (Congress.gov, )
The OCC adopted a final rule on October 21, 2026 for the permitted and foreign payment stablecoin issuers it supervises, covering its regulations under the Act except Bank Secrecy Act, AML, and sanctions rules, which it will address separately with Treasury. The rule and the Act take effect January 18, 2027. (OCC, )
Treasury's August 17, 2026 proposal would define when a payment stablecoin is issued, offered, or sold in the United States, and addresses limits that begin July 18, 2028 on offering stablecoins from issuers that are not permitted. It is proposed, not final. (U.S. Treasury, )
How Keystone Registry relates
Keystone Registry's stablecoin rule pack is built for the GENIUS Act's reserve and AML requirements. The eligible-asset list and disclosure format are configuration, so they can follow the final rules.
Official sources
- S.1582, GENIUS Act, text as enacted (Public Law 119-27) Congress.gov,
- Treasury Proposes Rule to Implement the GENIUS Act's Requirements to Counter Illicit Finance FinCEN,
- FinCEN, Agencies Propose Rule to Implement GENIUS Act Customer Identification Program Requirement FinCEN,
- Treasury Seeks Public Comment on GENIUS Act Proposed Rulemaking U.S. Treasury,
- OCC Advances U.S. Digital Asset Leadership with Final Rule to Implement GENIUS Act (News Release 2026-92) OCC,
Sources checked . If a source and this page disagree, the source governs.
See it on your token
We walk through testnet tokens end to end with synthetic data: a holder record, a blocked transfer, a prepared freeze, a reserve coverage check, and chain verification.