The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today released a proposed rule to implement the Genius Act, including how it would handle the law’s prohibition on paying interest or yield on payment stablecoins.
The Genius Act was passed by Congress last year and established a framework for the OCC and other federal agencies to regulate payment stablecoins. The 376-page proposed rule would set standards and requirements related to stablecoin activities, custody and risk management, among other things. For example, the OCC is proposing a floor of $5 million on the minimum capital requirement for de novo stablecoin issuers.
The regulations would apply to payment stablecoin issuers and foreign payment stablecoin issuers under the OCC’s jurisdiction, as well as certain custody activities conducted by OCC-supervised entities, according to the agency. Issues related to the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctions will be addressed in a separate rulemaking in coordination with the Treasury Department.
As for the law’s prohibition on payment of interest, the American Bankers Association and others have raised concerns that the ban could be bypassed when exchanges or other affiliates offer yield or rewards to stablecoin holders. The rule states that the OCC understands that issuers could attempt to bypass the ban through arrangements with third parties. As a result, it will presume a stablecoin issuer is paying interest or yield if two conditions are met:
- The stablecoin issuer has a contract, agreement or other arrangement with an affiliate or a related third party to pay interest or yield to the affiliate or related third party.
- The affiliate or related third party has a contract, agreement or other arrangement to pay interest or yield to a holder of any payment stablecoin issued by the permitted stablecoin issuer solely in connection with the holding, use or retention of such payment stablecoin.
“Other arrangements that are not captured by the presumption may also violate the statutory prohibition or constitute an evasion thereof,” the rule states. “The OCC would assess those arrangements on a case-by-case basis but does not believe that it is necessary to include other arrangements within the rebuttable presumption at this time.”
“The OCC has given thoughtful consideration to a proposed regulatory framework in which the stablecoin industry can flourish in a safe and sound manner,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said. “We welcome feedback on the proposal to inform a final rule that is effective, practical and reflects broad industry perspective.”
Comments on the rule are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
