The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized its GENIUS Act regulations on October 21, 2026. The OCC GENIUS Act final rule gives bank and nonbank stablecoin issuers a federal rulebook for the first time. It takes effect on January 18, 2027, the same day the statute itself becomes effective. However, the rule leaves one commercially important question open: whether the rewards that exchanges pay on stablecoin balances survive.
🇺🇸 BREAKING: The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has finalized GENIUS Act regulations establishing federal standards for stablecoin issuance, reserves, custody and supervision. The rules take effect January 18, 2027. https://t.co/VybYYcxCf5
— Generation Infinity (@Genfinity) October 21, 2026
What the OCC Finalized
The OCC announced the rule in Bulletin 2026-50 and News Release 2026-92. Congress enacted the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, and the agency proposed its implementing rule on February 25, 2026. Hundreds of comments then arrived from crypto companies, community bankers, trade groups and academics. The final rule places most requirements in a new 12 CFR Part 15. Those requirements cover permitted activities, reserve assets, redemption, risk management, audits, reports and supervision. In addition, the OCC amended its existing rules on capital adequacy, prompt corrective action, assessment of fees and rules of practice.
The rule reaches a wide group of institutions. National banks, federal savings associations and federal branches fall under it, along with their subsidiaries. Nonbank firms that want to become federal qualified issuers also fall under it. Foreign issuers under OCC jurisdiction must meet its standards as well. Furthermore, the rule includes a transition path for state qualified issuers that move into the federal framework. Comptroller Jonathan Gould said the OCC is “providing a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation.” He pointed to strong standards for reserve backing, redemption and risk management.
The GENIUS Act marks a watershed moment in American finance, further cementing the United States as the crypto capital of the world. Just as President Abraham Lincoln’s National Currency Act of 1863 established a national framework for bank-issued currency, the GENIUS Act establishes a federal framework for payment stablecoins in the digital age. The @USOCC’s final rule carries that landmark legislation forward, providing a clear, practical foundation for private-sector innovation, competition, and American leadership in digital assets.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 21, 2026
Reserves, Custody and the Capital Backstop
The reserve provisions changed between the proposal and the final text. According to CoinDesk’s analysis, the OCC moved to a principles-based approach on asset diversification and concentration. Issuers still must hold minimum daily liquidity. They also face limits on concentration with any single counterparty. As a result, issuers gain some flexibility in how they build reserves, but the liquidity floor remains in place.
Custody receives its own treatment. The rule sets standards for certain custody activities that OCC-supervised institutions conduct. That scope matters because many banks want to hold digital assets for clients as well as back their own stablecoins. Moreover, the rule adds a capital and operational backstop for issuers. The OCC listed that backstop among its core topics, alongside examination of foreign issuers and revocation of approvals in certain cases. The bulletin does not publish numeric capital levels in its summary, so issuers must read the rule text for those details.
The Rewards Question
The most closely watched section covers stablecoin rewards. The GENIUS Act bars issuers from paying holders interest or yield. Specifically, the statute targets payments made “solely in connection with the holding, use, or retention” of a stablecoin. The industry has read that language as leaving room for rewards on secondary platforms. For example, PayPal offers 4% on PYUSD, Coinbase One offers 3.75% on USDC, and Kraken+ offers up to 4.5% on USDG, according to CoinDesk.
The OCC did not settle the debate. The proposal had presumed that some arrangements involving affiliates or third parties violated the ban. The final rule drops those presumptions. Even so, the agency declined to grandfather existing programs. It “declines to presume that rewards programs that predated the GENIUS Act comply,” CoinDesk reports. Instead, the OCC will review each arrangement on its facts. One agency official told The Block the OCC has authority to enforce against evasions of the act.
The agency also rejected a request to wait for market structure legislation. Commenters had urged the OCC to hold off until Congress passes the Clarity Act, which could amend the yield language. The OCC declined to wait, and that bill recently failed to advance in a key Senate vote, CoinDesk notes. Meanwhile, banks continue to lobby against yield-bearing rewards.
What Comes Next
Several pieces remain unfinished. The OCC excluded Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements from this rule. It will handle those in a separate rulemaking with the Treasury Department. Additionally, the agency will announce separately when it begins accepting issuer applications and waiver requests. Companion guidance already exists in Bulletin 2026-51 on waivers and applications, and in Bulletin 2026-52 on revised reporting forms.
The OCC is not the only regulator involved. CoinDesk reports that the FDIC proposed rules in December 2025 and April 2026, Treasury followed in August, and the Federal Reserve issued proposals in September. Notably, no agency met the statute’s mid-year deadline. An issuer’s regulator depends on its charter and deposit insurance status, so firms must track several rulemakings at once.
With roughly three months until the effective date, issuers now have a concrete compliance target. Banks can plan reserve and custody builds against final text. Exchanges, however, must decide whether to keep their rewards programs while the OCC reviews each one without a safe harbor. That uncertainty will shape product decisions well before January 18.
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