USDTreasury Opens GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rulemaking With 60-Day Comment Period
Proposed rules would define when stablecoin issuance and sales fall under U.S. jurisdiction
TL;DR
- The U.S. Treasury Department has opened rulemaking on Section 3 of the GENIUS Act, focusing on when payment stablecoins are issued, offered or sold in the United States.
- The proposal is not a final rule and carries a 60-day public-comment period beginning with publication in the Federal Register.
- The framework will shape licensing requirements for U.S. issuers and market-access conditions for foreign-issued payment stablecoins.
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The U.S. Treasury Department on Aug. 17, 2026, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement Section 3 of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, seeking public input on when payment stablecoins should be treated as issued, offered or sold in the United States. The proposal is not a final rule and centers on the jurisdictional definitions that will determine when issuers need federal or state licenses and when digital-asset service providers are considered to be serving U.S. customers.
Treasury's notice opens a public-comment period lasting 60 days from publication in the Federal Register. Comments will be published on Regulations.gov. Treasury is seeking feedback from stablecoin issuers, exchanges, banks, technology providers, other industry participants and members of the public as it develops rules governing how the law applies across domestic and cross-border stablecoin activity.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the GENIUS Act as “a landmark framework and clear rules of the road for payment stablecoins” and said Treasury was moving quickly to implement it. Bessent said the department wants input as it works to provide regulatory certainty that allows businesses to “innovate and grow in America,” while strengthening the global role of the U.S. dollar.
Bessent also said President Donald Trump and Congress delivered the framework and that Treasury wants to “provide the regulatory certainty businesses 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.”
Treasury targets two jurisdictional definitions
The proposed rule focuses on two legal questions: 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. Those definitions will determine when an issuer becomes subject to the GENIUS Act's licensing requirements and when an exchange or other digital-asset service provider falls within the U.S. framework.
The issue also reaches companies operating outside the country. A platform may be based abroad while still being considered to offer payment stablecoins to U.S. customers. Treasury's jurisdictional approach will therefore be particularly relevant for businesses whose headquarters, issuing entities, infrastructure and users are spread across multiple jurisdictions.
Treasury expects the consultation to address practical questions including how platforms determine a user's location, how stablecoins are distributed and how foreign issuers can comply with lawful U.S. orders. The responses received during the consultation will help shape the final boundaries for issuers and products seeking to serve U.S. customers once the GENIUS Act's restrictions take effect.
The notice does not create new reserve requirements, approve individual stablecoin issuers or direct exchanges to remove specific stablecoins. Its immediate focus is whether issuance or distribution activity falls within U.S. jurisdiction, rather than changing the economic requirements governing individual payment stablecoins.
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Licensing and foreign stablecoin restrictions arrive in stages
President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July 2025, creating a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins and marking the first significant crypto-related legislation to become U.S. law. Treasury later issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking the following September, preceding the more developed proposal now open for public input.
The statutory requirements arrive on two separate implementation dates:
Foreign-issued payment stablecoins face an additional condition under the earlier stage. Digital-asset service providers generally will not be permitted to make those tokens available unless the foreign issuer can comply with lawful U.S. orders and an applicable reciprocal arrangement exists between the United States and the issuer's home jurisdiction.
The framework means Treasury's definitions will affect not only issuers but also exchanges and other intermediaries that distribute payment stablecoins. The central regulatory question is whether a company's activities amount to U.S. issuance or an offer or sale to a U.S. person, including when the business itself operates offshore.
USDT is among the foreign-issued stablecoins facing questions over future U.S. market access under the coming regime. The proposed rule itself, however, does not order USDT or any other specific stablecoin to be removed from exchanges.
Public input will shape the final rule
Treasury's current proposal follows the earlier information-gathering stage and moves implementation toward a formal rule. The department is asking affected businesses and the public to address how its jurisdictional tests should work in practice before those definitions become final.
For issuers, the rule will establish when operational arrangements amount to issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States and therefore trigger a licensing requirement. For exchanges and other digital-asset service providers, it will help determine when offering a token through an offshore platform is still considered an offer or sale to a U.S. customer.
Foreign issuers also face separate questions around compliance with U.S. legal orders and reciprocal regulatory arrangements. Those conditions, together with the broader licensed-issuer requirement, will determine which foreign-issued payment stablecoins can continue to reach U.S. users under the GENIUS Act framework.
FAQ
Is Treasury's proposal already a final GENIUS Act rule?
No. It is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking open for public comment.
What does Treasury want to define?
When payment stablecoins are issued in the U.S. or offered or sold to U.S. persons.
Who can submit comments?
Issuers, exchanges, banks, technology providers, industry participants and the public.
Does the proposal immediately require stablecoin delistings?
No. It does not direct exchanges to remove specific stablecoins.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
