The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is seeking public comment on proposed rules to implement the GENIUS Act.
- The proposed rules seek to establish baseline standards for OCC-regulated and certain foreign stablecoin issuers, along with custody activities.
- Anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements are excluded and will be addressed in a separate rulemaking exercise with the Treasury Department.
- Shares of Circle and Coinbase held gains after hours following the announcement.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced on Wednesday that its seeking public comments on its latest proposal to implement the GENIUS Act.
The new guidelines are looking to establish establish baseline rules for OCC-regulated charter stablecoin issuers and foreign payment stablecoin issuers, while also covering certain custody activities. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said they are meant to create an where stablecoins “can flourish in a safe and sound manner.”
What they don’t include are rules that address money laundering. The OCC said things like the Bank Secrecy Act and Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctions will be addressed in a separate proposal in coordination with the Department of Treasury.
Stablecoin-Linked Stocks Hold Gains
Shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL), issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC (USDC), were flat in overnight trade after a jump of over 35% in regular trade following the company’s fourth quarter (Q4) earnings. Retail sentiment around Circle’s stock on Stocktwits flipped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bearish’ a day ago, with message volume climbing to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high’ levels.
Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN), the co-issuer of USDC alongside Circle, edged over after hours following a jump of 13.5% in regular trade. Retail sentiment around the company improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ over the past day.
Retail sentiment around the stablecoin, USDC, continued to trend in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day with chatter rising to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high’ levels.
Big Tech Eyes Stablecoin Payments
The OCC’s move comes amid rising stablecoin adoption in the U.S. In addition to banks and crypto-native companies looking into launching their own dollar-equivalent cryptocurrencies, big tech is also looking to dip its toe in the arena.
Meta Platform (META) is reportedly partnering with Stripe to integrate stablecoin payments into its app by next year. It had take a stab at launching its own stablecion in 2019, with the Libra stablecoin, later renamed Diem, which was shutdown amid rising regular scrutiny.
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