Federal Reserve issues GENIUS Act stablecoin proposals for banks

The Federal Reserve Board on September 24, 2026 asked for public comment on two proposals under the GENIUS Act that would set rules for banks it supervises that want to issue payment stablecoins. The Fed’s announcement covers what backs those stablecoins, how much capital the issuer must hold, and how a bank applies.

What changed

The GENIUS Act is the U.S. law that created a federal framework for payment stablecoins, and several agencies each write rules for the issuers they oversee. These are the Fed’s.

According to the Federal Reserve’s release:

• Reserves. Issuers would have to “fully back their stablecoins with certain permissible reserve assets, such as short-term Treasury bills and certain other high-quality, liquid assets.”
• Capital and risk. Standard capital requirements for credit and operational risk, plus risk management standards and rules for safekeeping the reserve assets.
• Applications. A separate proposal sets how a Fed-supervised bank applies to issue a stablecoin, including a business plan and financial information, with procedures for appeals and hearings.

Comments are open for 60 days after the proposals are published in the Federal Register.

CoinDesk reports that the first proposal also touches stablecoin rewards, in line with other regulators’ view that some third-party arrangements would be presumed to be prohibited interest or yield payments. CoinDesk also notes that the law set a July 2026 deadline for final rules, which the agencies have missed.

What it means for you

Nothing changes in your wallet today. These are proposals, and they cover only stablecoins issued by Fed-supervised banks, not every dollar stablecoin you might hold or receive.

If you get paid in or send money with stablecoins, the direction matters. Rules that require one-to-one backing with short-term Treasuries and cash-like assets are meant to make a bank-issued stablecoin easier to redeem at face value. The rewards question matters too: if “earn” features on stablecoin balances are treated as prohibited interest, some apps may change or drop them.

For how stablecoin cards and transfers work in practice, and where they fall short, see our guide to stablecoin cards (USDC). This is general information, not investment or legal advice.