OCC finalizes GENIUS Act stablecoin rules, effective January 2027

The long runway to January 2027 matters as much as the substance: the OCC has locked in a compliance target while leaving banks and nonbank issuers a lengthy window to build reserve, redemption and crisis-playbook infrastructure. The softened stance on third-party rewards is the more telling signal, since it keeps exchanges in the distribution and incentive layer rather than pushing rewards activity outside the perimeter. Whether that latitude survives scrutiny — and how issuers document mass-redemption readiness — is the open question worth watching.