OCC Finalizes GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rules: Two-Day Redemptions, $5 Million Capital and No Yield From January 18

The OCC's final GENIUS Act rule requires stablecoin issuers it supervises to redeem within two business days, hold at least $5 million of capital and pay no yield, starting January 18, 2027.

Oct 24, 2026 - 12:00

OCC Finalizes GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rules: Two-Day Redemptions, $5 Million Capital and No Yield From January 18

Comic-style illustration of green dollar stablecoins on a steel vault door beside a brass stopwatch and a rulebook tied with a red ribbon, in front of a neoclassical government building

Quick take

The OCC's final GENIUS Act rule, published Oct. 23, sets the rulebook for stablecoin issuers it supervises.
Issuers must redeem within two business days, hold at least $5 million of capital and pay no yield.
The rule takes effect Jan. 18, 2027; anti-money-laundering rules will follow separately.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has finalized the rules for dollar stablecoin issuers under its watch, requiring redemptions within two business days and banning interest payments from January 18, 2027.

The 195-page rule was announced on Oct. 21 and published in the Federal Register on Oct. 23. It turns the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law signed on July 18, 2025, into detailed obligations on reserves, redemption, capital, custody and licensing.

The stakes are large. Dollar-pegged stablecoins in circulation total about $304.3 billion, according to DefiLlama data on Oct. 24. USDC alone accounts for $71.8 billion, or 23.6% of the total, and its issuer Circle already sits inside the OCC's orbit after its national trust bank approval.

"We are providing a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation, with strong standards for reserve backing, redemption, and risk management," Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said in a statement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went further. He called the GENIUS Act "a watershed moment in American finance," comparing it to the National Currency Act of 1863.

What issuers will have to do

The rule covers bank subsidiaries, federally qualified issuers, some state-qualified issuers and foreign issuers selling into the US. Redemption comes first. Each issuer's policy must state that timely redemption "may not exceed two business days following the date of the requested redemption."

Capital is the second pillar. Every issuer must hold at least $5 million of capital. New issuers, approved within the prior three years, must hold the greater of $5 million or the amount set in their licensing conditions.

On top of that sits an "operational backstop": assets equal to 12 months of total expenses. By BullishStation's count, an issuer spending $40 million a year to run its business would need $40 million of backstop assets, eight times the capital floor.

The yield ban is spelled out in full. Issuers may not pay holders "any form of interest or yield (whether in cash, tokens, or other consideration) solely in connection with the holding, use, or retention" of a stablecoin. Reserve assets also cannot be pledged, rehypothecated or reused, with narrow exceptions such as repo of Treasury bills maturing in 93 days or less to meet redemptions.

The process took time. The OCC proposed the rule on Feb. 25 and published it on March 2, then received about 328 comments from crypto firms, banks, trade groups and academics. By our count, that is 235 days from proposal to final publication.

Why it matters for crypto markets

Stablecoins are the cash leg of crypto trading and of most DeFi lending. A clear federal license lowers the legal risk for banks that want to issue their own coins, and for exchanges that list them. That said, the yield ban keeps reserve income with issuers rather than holders, which limits how stablecoins can compete with bank deposits and money market funds.

Two pieces are still missing. Rules on the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and sanctions will come in a separate rulemaking with the Treasury. The OCC will also announce in a separate release when it starts accepting applications.

Europe offers a useful comparison. MiCA's stablecoin rules have applied since June 2024, and ESMA has told platforms to drop non-MiCA stablecoins by January 8, 2027, ten days before the US regime starts. The EBA has also named USDC a "significant" e-money token, with its supervision starting Nov. 12. Banks' wider relationship with crypto remains under scrutiny too, as the OCC's own debanking report showed this month.

What comes next: watch for the OCC's notice on when it will accept applications and waiver requests, and for the joint anti-money-laundering proposal with the Treasury. The rule and the GENIUS Act both take effect on January 18, 2027, 86 days from today.

Sources: OCC News Release 2026-92 (Oct. 21, 2026) · OCC Bulletin 2026-50 · Federal Register, 91 FR 67000 (Oct. 23, 2026) · DefiLlama stablecoin data (Oct. 24, 2026)

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto-assets are volatile and you can lose all of your capital.