The law moves on to practical work. The American Federal Reserve has published two draft rules to regulate issuers of payment stablecoins placed under its supervision. Authorized reserves, capital requirements, risk management and banking authorization procedure make up the heart of the system.
These texts implement the GENIUS Act, promulgated in July 2025. However, they remain at the proposal stage and will be subject to public consultation for sixty days after their publication in the Federal Register.
Stablecoins: The Fed regulates reserves, capital and custody
The first project directly concerns the solidity of stablecoins. Fed-supervised issuers are expected to fully back outstanding tokens with a limited list of assets, including short-term U.S. Treasuries and other high-quality liquid investments.
The goal is to ensure that a user can quickly recover a dollar for each stablecoin, even when markets are going through a period of stress. An asset considered safe can in fact temporarily lose value if rates move sharply or if the issuer has to sell it urgently.
The Fed also provides standardized capital requirements. These would not be used to directly cover the tokens issued, but to absorb losses linked to the operation of the activity: computer incident, failure of a service provider, fraud or conservation problem.
Specific rules would govern the establishments which keep the assets making up the reserves. Finally, the text would clarify the activities related to stablecoins that banks supervised by the Fed can carry out.
This architecture brings the stablecoin closer to a regulated means of payment rather than a simple crypto token. It separates the reserves intended for holders of equity capital that the issuer must mobilize to cover its other risks.
The GENIUS Act imposes an entry window on banks
The second project organizes the authorization procedure. A supervised bank that wishes to issue a stablecoin through a subsidiary will have to file a specific file with the Fed.
This will include a business plan, projections and financial information. The text also sets out the procedures for appeal, hearing and final decision in the event of disagreement on a request. Banks thus have a path adapted to this activity, distinct from a general banking authorization.
Fed governors unanimously approved both proposals. Michael Barr, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve who had already pointed out certain weaknesses of the GENIUS Act, supports the system while requesting several adjustments.
In particular, he wants the final rule to properly address interest rate and exchange rate risks. It also asks that the right of all holders to obtain reimbursement for their tokens be formulated without ambiguity.
His other reservation concerns the fight against money laundering. He challenges a standard that could prevent the Fed from initiating supervisory action when the failure observed is not qualified as “significant or systemic”. According to him, this threshold risks complicating the effective control of banking compliance programs.
