The House Financial Services Committee yesterday released a discussion draft of a proposed bill to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, building off a nearly identical bill introduced in the Senate.
The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE, Act builds off the committee’s work in the last Congress to provide multiple regulatory pathways for payment stablecoin issuers in the U.S., according to a summary of the legislation. A key difference is the current bill would give the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency the authority to approve and supervise federally qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuers. The committee’s previous bill included a federal pathway through the Federal Reserve.
The Senate bill — the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act — also would establish procedures for institutions seeking licenses to issue stablecoins. For issuers of more than $10 billion of stablecoins, the GENIUS Act would apply the Fed’s regulatory framework to depository institutions and the OCC’s framework for nonbank issuers. It allows for state regulation of issuers under $10 billion in market capitalization and provides a waiver process for issuers exceeding the threshold to remain state-regulated.
Lawmakers in both chambers said they will work together to craft a final bill.
