The United States Department of the Treasury published its first major implementation proposal for the GENIUS Act, which began to refine the definition and scope of application of the United States stabilization currency regulatory framework. The document would further clarify which subjects belonged to the issue of payment-type stabilization notes in the United States and which agencies were required to comply with the requirements of the new law.
60 days for comments to start
This proposal marks an important step in the implementation of the GENIUS Act. Under the arrangement, market participants and the public will submit their comments in 60 days, and the Ministry of Finance will then have months to collate feedback and form final rules.
The original one-year implementation deadline for the bill expired last month, and the Supervisory Authority failed to complete the full set of rules on time. The next point is January 18, 2027, the date on which the legal plan came into force.
Payment and settlement attributes highlighted
In its proposal, the Ministry of Finance stated that the payment stability currency should be considered a financial instrument for payment and settlement, including cross-border use, and should not simply apply traditional investment-type rules. It was stated that the direct application of such rules could weaken the function of the currency as a means of payment.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance mentioned that while existing financial legal systems, such as securities, had been taken into account in the drafting process, the stabilization currency would be treated as a separate area. This means that subsequent rules will focus more on the issue, payment and settlement activities themselves.
Attention to the scope of application of offshore issuers
The proposal also lists dozens of questions to be answered on how to interpret key provisions of the bill. The market expects that one of the most important sectors of interest to the industry will be the standards applied by issuers abroad, in particular, those stable currency issuers, such as Tether, which have a major global share.
At present, the Ministry of Finance is not the only institution that needs to make rules, and the banking and market regulatory authorities need to simultaneously promote the relevant rules. It therefore remains to be seen whether all the rules will finally land by January next year, even if the law is nearing its entry into force. In accordance with common regulatory processes in the United States, the new regulations are usually accompanied by transitional periods.
The parliamentary bill is slowing down.
Meanwhile, the United States Congress continues to promote the Digital Asset Market Clarity Bill. The bill may reformulate parts of the GENIUS Act, including how the exchange's incentive schemes for stable currency users are addressed.
However, the bill failed to launch a critical vote earlier this month, after which the Senate entered the August recess and the legislative process slowed down. The regulations for the implementation of the stabilization currency are moving forward, but the relevant legislation at the level of Congress is likely to continue to adapt the existing framework.