US Sets $5 Million Minimum Capital for Stablecoin Issuers
Key Facts
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on October 21, 2026, announced a final rule regulating issuers of payment stablecoins, with the rule and the GENIUS Act set to take effect on January 18, 2027. From that date, an entity generally must obtain approved issuer status before issuing a stablecoin in the United States. The framework sets requirements for licensing, capital, redemption and reporting, and also covers some custody activities at entities supervised by the office. Its scope includes national banks and their subsidiaries, federal savings associations, branches of foreign banks and foreign stablecoin issuers, as well as certain qualifying state- or federally chartered entities subject to the office's jurisdiction. Issuing without the required approval may lead to criminal penalties.
January 18, 2027, is not a general final deadline for all issuers to complete licensing; it is the date the prior-approval requirement takes effect. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency allows existing issuers with a substantially complete application under consideration on or before that date to request a written exemption. The office generally expects to consider exemptions allowing qualifying existing issuers to continue issuing, and generally intends to decide on applications by the effective date. But the application window has not yet opened: the office will begin accepting licensing and exemption applications after the Office of Management and Budget approves the information collection associated with the forms. The office said it will announce separately when it begins accepting and processing applications.
The rule sets a general redemption cap of two business days from the date a request is submitted, with the transaction considered complete after the outgoing transfer is processed and initiated or the amount is credited to the customer's account with the issuer. The period may, however, be extended in cases of exceptional pressure on redemption requests. If requests exceed 10% of outstanding issuance value within a single 24-hour period, the issuer must notify the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within 24 hours and may request an extension. If the office approves an extension under the specified circumstances, the period may reach 7 calendar days. These provisions link an issuer's ability to meet customer requests quickly with notification and oversight requirements when withdrawals rise.
Financially, the rule requires a permitted issuer to maintain capital of at least $5 million, with additional requirements proportionate to the level and nature of risk. It also requires operating reserves equal to 12 months of expenses, separate from the assets backing the stablecoins themselves. This reserve adds a cushion for operating expenses to the capital requirements, while the issuer remains responsible for managing the reserve assets backing the coins. For regulatory disclosure, weekly reporting forms begin with the January 25, 2027, reporting date, and quarterly reports begin on March 31, 2027, subject to Office of Management and Budget approval. The implementation requirements thus extend beyond the effective date of the law and rule.
The framework bars an issuer from paying interest or yield to a coin holder solely for holding or using it. But the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency dropped from the final rule a proposed presumption that would have automatically deemed certain arrangements with third parties to be violations. The Associated Press said trading platforms may pass some earnings on to customers as yield-linked rewards on a case-by-case basis. This leaves a distinction between a ban on direct yield paid by the issuer and rewards platforms may offer, an issue tied to competition for customer funds. The agency reported concerns from banking groups that the movement of customer savings from banks to cryptocurrencies could reduce banks' ability to lend.
A foreign issuer is subject to registration requirements with the office, including proof that the U.S. Treasury secretary has determined the applicant is subject to a regulatory and supervisory regime comparable to the GENIUS Act framework, as well as its consent to U.S. jurisdiction. The law was enacted on July 18, 2025, to establish a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin activities. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it received hundreds of comments on the proposal from crypto-focused companies, community bankers, trade groups, academics and others. The Federal Register recorded about 328 comments, reflecting differing views on reserve asset management, liquidity, diversification, the yield ban, redemption and capital. These submissions show that the final rule followed debate spanning multiple operational and oversight issues.