The U.S. Department of the Treasury has taken another big step toward implementing the new stablecoin law, proposing federal definitions on what it means to issue U.S. stablecoins and who needs to follow the rules set out in the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, even as the law’s deadlines are fast approaching.
The department is among several government entities and agencies that must put rules in place before the stablecoin industry’s U.S. law is in full effect, also including the banking and markets regulators.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday the administration is trying to move quickly to put the rules in place “as we work to provide the regulatory certainty businesses need to innovate and grow in America, cement the role of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and keep America the crypto capital of the world,” according to a statement.
The proposal said the department tried to treat stablecoins as a new arena, though it studied established securities laws as a reference point, with their “longstanding legal regimes that address the issue, offer, and sale of other financial instruments, such as securities, including offshore activities.”