The FDIC plans to issue a final rulemaking before the end of the year to establish an application process and prudential requirements for stablecoin issuers under its jurisdiction, although likely not until after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issues its own stablecoin rules, FDIC Chairman Travis Hill said today.
The FDIC proposed new rulemaking earlier this year to implement the Genius Act, which created a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. Speaking at the Stablecon conference in Maryland, Hill said the agency seeks to finalize the rulemaking before the law’s implementation date early next year. But he noted the OCC will be the primary federal agency regulating nonbank stablecoin issuers, “so it makes sense for them to issue theirs first, and then our plan would be to follow not too far behind.” (Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould has said the OCC plans to have a final rule by November.)
“Some of the big issues that we addressed in our proposal that we’re continuing to think about include permissible activities, so what activities stablecoin issuers can engage in; reserve assets, so the specific requirements around what the assets are that back the stablecoins; redemption requirements, so requirements around when customers want to redeem stablecoins with the issuer, particularly if the issuer is under stress; [and] capital requirements for the stablecoin issuer,” Hill said.
Hill also said the FDIC is considering proposed rulemaking on the agency’s responsibilities when it comes to the resolution of certain stablecoin providers, but didn’t provide details. “More to come on that,” he said.
