US OCC commits to November GENIUS Act finalization date

Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States, has said that the office will publish its final rulebook for payment stablecoins by November.

Gould delivered the GENIUS Act commitment during a fireside chat at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole on August 19. 

He said, “So we are very intent on moving quickly and getting a final rule out by November so that we will be able to start processing applications within the new year.” Gould also stated that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) “will have a final rule out by November” once it finishes weighing industry feedback.

Federal agencies were supposed to lock in their GENIUS rules by July, one year after enactment of the Act. However, that date came and went without a finished OCC rule. 

The statutory deadline was meant to be July 18, 2026. The new deadline per the Comptroller is November, and if the OCC delivers before that timeline, it will still be ahead of the law’s own effective date of January 18, 2026. 

The clock the statute is running

President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act in July 2025, and it sets up a federal framework for payment stablecoins.

The rules are meant to come into force next year. So, it is understandable that the OCC is racing to beat that timeline, having missed the July deadline. Should it fail to meet its target, the act may take hold without a rulebook from the regulator.

What the proposed rule already covers

In February, the OCC floated a 376-page proposal that stakes out the agency’s authority over stablecoins and spells out capital and liquidity demands tied to risk management. 

The draft posed more than 200 questions and closed its comment period on May 1, with reserve backing, compliance conduct, and bank-style capital standards all on the table for both chartered banks and non-bank applicants.

Other regulators are moving in step. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) have put out aligned proposals. Also, the Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have addressed anti-money-laundering and sanctions duties for issuers.

On August 17, the Treasury Department called for public comments after issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with regard to implementing section 3 of the GENIUS Act as the act comes into force in tranches.

Charter demand and a stalled Congress

Gould paired the timeline with numbers on how fast bank chartering has turned toward crypto. In the OCC’s own account of the event, he said the agency has fielded 40 new bank charter applications since Trump took office roughly 18 months ago, and 23 of them build in some form of digital asset activity.

He pointed out that the figure is an eightfold jump from the four applications that were recorded during the Biden administration, a record he told the audience showed “where the puck is going.”

Gould also shared his thoughts on the CLARITY Act, which seems to have hit a legislative gridlock, with some saying that it is unlikely to clear Congress this year.

The Comptroller said, “We don’t know if or when or what may be the end result of that process,” while adding, “What we have is the GENIUS Act. That’s been law for over a year now, and we need to execute on that.”

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.