OCC targets November rule for GENIUS Act as digital asset charter interest rises

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OCC targets GENIUS Act rule

Highlights

The OCC aims to finalize a GENIUS Act rule by November, having started prior to the bill's enactment, according to Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould.
Over the past 18 months, the OCC received 40 new bank charter applications, with 23 featuring digital asset activities, an eightfold increase from prior years.
OCC oversight of payment stablecoins is escalating, as charter proposals increasingly include stablecoin integration, signaling regulatory mainstreaming for the banking sector.

Stablecoin rulemaking and charter pipeline

As reported by Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould says the agency is preparing a final rule under the GENIUS Act by November, after beginning work even before the president signed the bill into law.

Gould says the OCC has received 40 applications for new bank charters over roughly the last 18 months, with 23 of them including digital asset activity in their business plans. He describes that as an eightfold increase from the four years of the Biden administration and says payment stablecoins are becoming a regular feature in proposals now reaching the agency for review.

Regulatory role and industry impact

Gould says the OCC is witnessing the birth of a new industry in payment stablecoins and is moving quickly to define its supervisory framework. He links that role to the agency's original mission in the 1860s, saying oversight of reserve assets backing payment stablecoins is analogous to its historical work ensuring the quality of assets behind national bank-issued notes.

The comments, delivered at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, position digital asset regulation as part of the administration's broader economic and financial strategy. For the banking sector, the remarks indicate that stablecoin integration is moving closer to the regulatory mainstream as charter applicants and supervisors adapt to a changing payments landscape.

In our earlier article on the White House crypto policy push and regulators’ agenda, we covered how U.S. policymakers were advancing new oversight for digital assets alongside a meeting between President Trump and cryptocurrency executives. We also noted the SEC’s move toward exemptions for certain token offerings and the CFTC’s plans for further discussions on crypto rules, highlighting the intensifying political scrutiny around the administration’s approach.

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