U.S. FDIC proposes first U.S. stablecoin rule to emerge from GENIUS Act

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has rolled out the first official rule proposal stemming from the new law governing stablecoin issuers, with its board voting Tuesday to open a 60-day public comment period on its system for handling applications from its regulated banks looking to issue stablecoins from subsidiaries.

The agency — led by Acting Chairman Travis Hill, who is also President Donald Trump's nominee for the permanent seat — will gather comments and review them before it can release a final rule. The Tuesday proposal, approved by all three members of the shorthanded board, would establish the procedures for accepting applications, reviewing them under a 120-day approval window and offering an appeal process for those rejected.

"Under the proposal, the FDIC would adopt a tailored application process that would enable the FDIC to evaluate the safety and soundness of an applicant’s proposed activities based on the statutory factors while minimizing the regulatory burden on applicants," said Hill, whose nomination could be confirmed as soon as this week by the Senate.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act was the first major crypto law approved by Congress, and it set out a complex array of regulators for companies wishing to issue stablecoins, the dollar-tied tokens vital to transactions in the digital assets sector. For insured depository institutions, the FDIC is the assigned regulator.

Hill said that another more substantial rule will emerge "in the months ahead" that will establish the FDIC's capital, liquidity, and risk management requirements for such issuers.

Under the proposed application process, interested institutions would have to submit letters describing their businesses, including financial information and their plans for running a safe and steady issuance.

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