The US Department of the Treasury has issued a proposed rule seeking public comment on payment stablecoin issuance under the GENIUS Act.
The notice sets out Treasury's proposed approach to two definitional questions at the centre of the law: what it means to issue a payment stablecoin in the US, and what it means to offer or sell a payment stablecoin to a person in the US.
Regulatory timeline under the GENIUS Act
The GENIUS Act is expected to take effect on 18 January 2027. From that date, a person will generally be barred from issuing a payment stablecoin in the US without an appropriate federal or state licence. Digital asset service providers will also be restricted from offering, selling, or otherwise making available foreign-issued payment stablecoins, unless the foreign issuer can demonstrate the technological capability to comply with any lawful order, and unless a reciprocal arrangement exists between the US and the issuer's home jurisdiction.
A further restriction is scheduled to take effect on 18 July 2028. From that date, digital asset service providers will generally be prohibited from offering or selling any payment stablecoins to persons in the US unless those stablecoins are issued by a licensed issuer.
Defining issuance, offers, and sales
The NPRM aims to clarify when an issuer is required to obtain a licence under the GENIUS Act framework, by proposing a definition of what constitutes issuing a payment stablecoin in the US. It also proposes to define the circumstances under which a stablecoin is considered to be offered or sold to a person in the US, addressing how such transactions should be treated in US markets once the law is in force.
In addition, the proposal follows an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that Treasury issued in September 2025, which sought input on a broader set of implementation questions relating to the GENIUS Act. The current NPRM narrows that earlier consultation into a concrete regulatory proposal covering the issuance and sale definitions.
The department is also reportedly working to provide regulatory certainty for stakeholders operating in the payment stablecoin sector, while noting that the GENIUS Act establishes a federal framework for the industry.
Public comment process
Treasury is inviting comments from a range of stakeholders, including issuers, digital asset service providers, and other market participants. Members of the public have 60 days from the notice's publication in the Federal Register to submit comments, which will be made publicly viewable.
The GENIUS Act represents the first comprehensive federal framework for payment stablecoins in the US, following years of discussion over how such instruments should be supervised. The rulemaking process now underway will determine how issuers, exchanges, and other digital asset service providers structure their compliance ahead of the 2027 and 2028 deadlines.
