OCC Finalizes GENIUS Act Rules for Stablecoin Issuers and Custody

The OCC moving from proposal to a final rule matters less for what it says than for the fact that a federal banking regulator has now put a durable compliance perimeter around payment stablecoins before the GENIUS Act takes effect. That shifts the burden onto issuers and custody providers, who face a defined supervisory standard rather than an interpretive gray zone. The open question is how strictly the framework is applied in practice and whether other regulators align their own stablecoin and custody treatment with the OCC's approach.