First GENIUS Act rulebook lands: OCC finalizes its stablecoin rule, in force January 18, 2027, and leaves third-party rewards to case-by-case review

Stablecoin issuers now have their first finished federal rulebook. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule on October 21, 2026, implementing the GENIUS Act, according to the OCC's news release. The stablecoin law was enacted on July 18, 2025, per OCC Bulletin 2026-50. The Block reported it is the first regulator to finalize its GENIUS Act rule. Both the rule and the Act take effect on January 18, 2027.

The rule, placed in a new Part 15 of the OCC's regulations, covers permitted payment stablecoin issuers and foreign issuers under OCC jurisdiction and certain custody activities at OCC-supervised institutions. It sets standards for reserve assets, redemption, risk management, audits, reports and supervision, and a capital and operational backstop, per OCC Bulletin 2026-50. Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money-laundering and sanctions requirements are left to a separate rulemaking with the Treasury Department. The proposal, announced on February 25, drew hundreds of comments, per the OCC.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the Act "a watershed moment in American finance" in the release. Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said the rule offers a clear, practical framework with strong standards for reserve backing, redemption and risk management.

The most watched change concerns rewards. The Act bars issuers from paying interest themselves; the final rule drops the proposal's presumption that certain arrangements between issuers and third parties could be unlawful, The Block reported. An OCC official said, per The Block, that rewards would be handled case by case and that a clear evasion could be pursued. Banks have argued such rewards could draw deposits away and weaken community institutions, The Block reported.

What comes next: the OCC will announce separately when it begins accepting applications and waiver requests. Per crypto.news, the agency has 30 days to judge whether an application is complete and 120 days after that to decide.