The U.S. Treasury Department has opened a 60-day public-comment period on proposed rules under the GENIUS Act, a key step in implementing the federal stablecoin law. The proposal seeks to clarify when stablecoin issuers require a federal or state license and when cryptocurrency platforms are considered to be making stablecoins available in the United States. The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, was the first comprehensive federal framework for payment stablecoins — digital tokens designed to hold a steady value against a reference asset, most commonly the U.S. dollar.

Treasury's notice, detailed in an official press release, opens the comment window for 60 days from its publication in the Federal Register. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the GENIUS Act as "a landmark framework and clear rules of the road for payment stablecoins" and said the department is moving quickly to implement it.

According to Bessent, the goal is to give businesses the regulatory certainty needed to "innovate and grow in America," while strengthening the global role of the U.S. dollar, which serves as the reference asset for most stablecoins in circulation.

When stablecoin activity falls under U.S. rules

The proposed rule centers on two legal definitions: what it means to issue a payment stablecoin in the United States, and what it means to offer or sell one to a person in the country. These definitions will determine which companies must comply with the GENIUS Act's licensing requirements — and, in practice, which tokens U.S. customers can still be offered once the law's cutoffs arrive.

Beginning January 18, 2027, companies generally will not be permitted to issue payment stablecoins in the U.S. without the appropriate federal or state license. Treasury is now seeking to establish when an issuer crosses that threshold. The question also affects exchanges and other digital-asset service providers: a platform may operate from abroad yet still be considered to offer stablecoins to U.S. customers.

Foreign stablecoins face two deadlines

The GENIUS Act introduces an earlier condition for payment stablecoins issued outside the United States. From January 18, 2027, digital-asset service providers generally may not make a foreign-issued payment stablecoin available unless its issuer can comply with lawful U.S. orders and a reciprocal arrangement exists between the United States and the issuer's home jurisdiction.

A broader restriction takes effect on July 18, 2028 — three years to the day after the GENIUS Act was signed into law on July 18, 2025. After that date, platforms generally may offer payment stablecoins to U.S. customers only if the assets are issued by a licensed entity. That deadline could determine whether major foreign-issued stablecoins remain available, with USDT among the assets facing questions over future access to the U.S. market. USDT, issued by Tether, is the largest stablecoin by circulation, while USDC, issued by U.S.-based Circle, is the largest stablecoin issued domestically — so the licensing question reaches both foreign incumbents and domestic issuers. The impact on overseas companies will depend largely on how Treasury determines whether they are serving the U.S. market.

The cross-border question has parallels elsewhere: the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, which began applying to stablecoin issuers in 2024, imposes its own authorization requirements, and approval in one jurisdiction does not automatically confer access to another.

No immediate change for stablecoin users

The notice does not introduce new reserve requirements, approve individual issuers, or direct exchanges to remove specific stablecoins. The GENIUS Act itself already requires permitted payment stablecoins to be backed one-to-one with high-quality liquid reserves, such as cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities; the current proposal addresses jurisdictional definitions rather than those substantive standards. Its focus is jurisdiction: when an issuer is operating in the United States, and when a platform is serving a U.S. customer. This will be particularly important for companies whose headquarters, issuing entity and users are spread across multiple jurisdictions.

What Treasury wants the industry to address

Treasury is seeking feedback from stablecoin issuers, exchanges, banks, technology providers and the public. Comments will be published on Regulations.gov. Public comment is a standard step in U.S. federal rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act, and agencies commonly revise proposed rules in response to significant submissions. The consultation is expected to examine practical questions such as how platforms determine a user's location, how stablecoins are distributed, and how foreign issuers can comply with U.S. orders.

This is not the final rule. Responses received during the 60-day consultation will help determine which issuers and products can serve U.S. customers once the GENIUS Act's restrictions take effect, alongside further implementation steps from the federal banking agencies that supervise licensed issuers under the law.

Source: Coindoo