The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has set a November target for completing its GENIUS Act regulations, according to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould during the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium. As reported by crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, Gould disclosed this timeline while emphasizing that the agency would adjust final regulations in response to comments from cryptocurrency companies and other industry participants. The OCC's main GENIUS Act proposal was released on February 25, 2026, with a 60-day comment period ending May 1, 2026, covering reserves, redemptions, supervision, custody, and issuer applications. The rules would govern the full stablecoin lifecycle including issuance, reserve management, redemption, supervision, and closure processes for federally qualified payment stablecoin issuers.
The Treasury's proposal introduces significant new requirements for crypto exchanges regarding stablecoin listings and compliance checks. Starting July 18, 2028, service providers generally may not offer or sell any payment stablecoin to persons in the United States unless it comes from a licensed issuer. Exchanges and market makers could face problems if they help newly created, unauthorized stablecoins reach buyers, as simply listing a stablecoin would not automatically make an exchange its issuer. The proposal extends beyond U.S. stablecoin companies, with foreign issuers from outside the U.S. also subject to new rules and crypto exchanges required to check whether stablecoins they want to list are from authorized issuers. Treasury is taking a broad approach to what counts as issuing stablecoins in the U.S., as a transaction could fall within the rules simply when either the issuer or the recipient is in the U.S.
Foreign-issued stablecoins face new, stringent compliance requirements under the GENIUS Act, with Treasury working to establish how tokens issued outside the country can continue reaching U.S. users. One major requirement concerns how issuers from outside the U.S. respond to U.S. legal orders, with issuers needing to show they can freeze, seize or burn stablecoins, or stop them from moving when legally required to do so. Instead of just relying on the words of issuers about their capabilities, exchanges will also be required to carry out their own checks to ensure compliance. Foreign companies may also enter if the Treasury deems their regulatory regimes comparable to U.S. standards and they register with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The legislation gives Treasury a role in determining whether foreign stablecoin regulatory systems are comparable to U.S. requirements, with foreign issuers operating under qualifying regimes able to gain U.S. market access if they satisfy additional conditions.
The stablecoin market has demonstrated remarkable growth with adjusted transfer volumes repeatedly exceeding $1 trillion per month since late 2025, with June 2026 setting a new high of $1.79 trillion. As reported by Visa, the network's stablecoin settlement has reached a $4.5 billion annualized run rate, growing significantly month over month. USDC leads adjusted volume and institutional settlement flows, reflecting greater transparency and alignment with U.S. regulatory expectations, while USDT leads circulating supply and retains strong liquidity on certain chains and in emerging markets. The total stablecoin market capitalization ranges between approximately $295-320 billion as of mid-to-late summer 2026, with USDT accounting for roughly $183 billion and USDC around $72 billion. Corporate treasury teams, institutional investors, and payment service providers are replacing retail savers as marginal buyers, with their requirements for segregated custody, audited reserves, named counterparties, and clean accounting treatment reshaping the products on offer.
Treasury Secretary Bessent emphasized that the goal is to keep America the crypto capital of the world while providing regulatory certainty for businesses operating in the stablecoin space. The department is treating stablecoins as a new arena while studying established securities laws as reference points, noting that traditional investment rules may frustrate the goal of payment stablecoins serving as effective means of payment and settlement, including across borders. The proposed framework represents the first major proposal to implement the GENIUS Act, marking a significant milestone as the administration works to provide regulatory certainty for businesses and cement the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency. The administration is making steady progress to implement rules for operating U.S. stablecoin issuers, though it's unlikely that all rules will be finalized by the January 18 effective date. By 2027, stablecoins are positioned to become crypto's largest practical use case, measured by real economic throughput, settlement volume, and institutional integration, even if Bitcoin retains market-cap dominance, because regulatory clarity, network effects with card rails, and demand for dollar access outside traditional banking systems are compounding faster than speculative narratives.
