GENIUS Act – RegStak

Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) — Pub. L. 119–27 (July 18, 2025).

Establishes the federal framework for permitted payment stablecoin issuers, reserves, and related supervision. Expand a short section to read it here; longer sections open on their own page with in-page navigation.

Primary source: Public Law 119–27 PDF (enrolled text).

Sections

§1 Short title

**Citation:** Pub. L. 119–27, §1
**Source:** govinfo PLAW-119publ27

This Act may be cited as the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act” or the “GENIUS Act”.

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§2 Definitions

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§3 Issuance and treatment of payment stablecoins

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §3

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) Limitation on Issuers.–It shall be unlawful for any person other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer to issue a payment stablecoin in the United States.

(b) Prohibition on Offers or Sales.–

(1) In general.–Except as provided in subsection (c) and section 18, beginning on the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, it shall be unlawful for a digital asset service provider to offer or sell a payment stablecoin to a person in the United States, unless the payment stablecoin is issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer.

(2) Foreign payment stablecoin issuers.–It shall be unlawful for any digital asset service provider to offer, sell, or otherwise make available in the United States a payment stablecoin issued by a foreign payment stablecoin issuer unless the foreign payment stablecoin issuer has the technological capability to comply, and will comply, with the terms of any lawful order and any reciprocal arrangement pursuant to section 18.

(1) In general.–The Secretary of the Treasury may issue regulations providing safe harbors from subsection (a) that are–

(A) consistent with the purposes of the Act;

(B) limited in scope; and

(2) Unusual and exigent circumstances.–

(A) In general.–If the Secretary of the Treasury determines that unusual and exigent circumstances exist, the Secretary may provide limited safe harbors from subsection (a).

(B) Justification.–Prior to issuing a limited safe harbor under this paragraph, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the chairs and ranking members of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a justification for the determination of the unusual and exigent circumstances, which may be contained in a classified annex, as applicable.

(d) Rulemaking.–Consistent with section 13, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations to implement this section, including regulations to define terms.

(e) Extraterritorial Effect.–This section is intended to have extraterritorial effect if conduct involves the offer or sale of a payment stablecoin to a person located in the United States.

(f) Penalty for Violation.–

(1) In general.–Whoever knowingly participates in a violation of subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 for each such violation, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.

(2) Referral to attorney general.–If a primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator has reason to believe that any person has knowingly violated subsection (a), the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator may refer the matter to the Attorney General.

(g) Treatment.–A payment stablecoin that is not issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer shall not be–

(1) treated as cash or as a cash equivalent for accounting purposes;

(2) eligible as cash or as a cash equivalent margin and collateral for futures commission merchants, derivative clearing organizations, broker-dealers, registered clearing agencies, and swap dealers; or

(3) acceptable as a settlement asset to facilitate wholesale payments between banking organizations or by a payment infrastructure to facilitate exchange and settlement among banking organizations.

(h) Rules of Construction.–

(1) Exempt transactions.–This section shall not apply to–

(A) the direct transfer of digital assets between 2 individuals acting on their own behalf and for their own lawful purposes, without the involvement of an intermediary;

(B) to any transaction involving the receipt of digital assets by an individual between an account owned by the individual in the United States and an account owned by the individual abroad that are offered by the same parent company; or

(C) to any transaction by means of a software or hardware wallet that facilitates an individual's own custody of digital assets.

(2) Treasury authority.–Nothing in this Act shall alter the existing authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to block, restrict, or limit transactions involving payment stablecoins that reference or are denominated in United States dollars that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

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§4 Requirements for issuing payment stablecoins

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§5 Approval of IDI subsidiaries and Federal qualified issuers

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§6 Supervision and enforcement (Federal)

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§7 State qualified payment stablecoin issuers

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§8 Anti-money laundering protections

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§9 Anti-money laundering innovation

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§10 Custody of payment stablecoin reserve and collateral

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §10

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) In General.–A person may only engage in the business of providing custodial or safekeeping services for the payment stablecoin reserve, the payment stablecoins used as collateral, or the private keys used to issue permitted payment stablecoins if the person–

(1) is subject to–

(A) supervision or regulation by a primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator or a primary financial regulatory agency described under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 2(12) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301(12)); or

(B) supervision by a State bank supervisor, as defined under section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813), or a State credit union supervisor, as defined under section 6003 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (31 U.S.C. 5311 note), and such State bank supervisor or State credit union supervisor makes available to the Board such information as the Board determines necessary and relevant to the categories of information under subsection (d); and

(2) complies with the requirements under subsection (b), unless such person holds such property in accordance with similar requirements as required by a primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

(b) Customer Property Requirement.–A person described in subsection (a) shall, with respect to other property described in that subsection–

(1) treat and deal with the payment stablecoins, private keys, cash, and other property of a person for whom or on whose behalf the person described in that subsection receives, acquires, or holds payment stablecoins, private keys, cash, and other property (hereinafter referred to in this section as the “customer”) as belonging to such customer and not as the property of such person; and

(2) take such steps as are appropriate to protect the payment stablecoins, private keys, cash, and other property of a customer from the claims of creditors of the person.

(1) In general.–Payment stablecoin reserves, payment stablecoins, cash, and other property of a permitted payment stablecoin issuer or customer shall be separately accounted for by a person described in subsection (a) and shall be segregated from and not be commingled with the assets of the person.

(2) Exceptions.–Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or subsection (b)–

(A) the payment stablecoin reserves, payment stablecoins, cash, and other property of a permitted payment stablecoin issuer or customer may, for convenience, be commingled and deposited in an omnibus account holding the payment stablecoin reserves, payment stablecoins, cash, and other property of more than 1 permitted payment stablecoin issuer or customer at a State chartered depository institution, an insured depository institution, national bank, or trust company, and any payment stablecoin reserves in the form of cash held in the form of a deposit liability at a depository institution shall not be subject to any requirement relating to the separation of such cash from the property of the applicable depository institution;

(B) such share of the payment stablecoin reserves, payment stablecoins, cash, and other property of the permitted payment stablecoin issuer or customer that shall be necessary to transfer, adjust, or settle a transaction or transfer of assets may be withdrawn and applied to such purposes, including the payment of commissions, taxes, storage, and other charges lawfully accruing in connection with the provision of services by a person described in subsection (a);

(C) in accordance with such terms and conditions as a primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator may prescribe by rule, regulation, or order, any payment stablecoin reserves, payment stablecoins, cash, and other property described in this subsection may be commingled and deposited in permitted payment stablecoin issuer or customer accounts with payment stablecoin reserves, payment stablecoins, cash, and other property received by the person and required by the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator to be separately accounted for, treated as, and dealt with as belonging to such permitted payment stablecoin issuers or customers; or

(D) an insured depository institution that provides custodial or safekeeping services for payment stablecoin reserves shall be permitted to hold payment stablecoin reserves in the form of cash on deposit provided such treatment is consistent with Federal law.

(3) Customer priority.–With respect to payment stablecoins held by a person described in subsection (a) for a customer, with or without the segregation required under paragraph (1), the claims of the customer against such person with respect to such payment stablecoins shall have priority over the claims of any person other than the claims of another customer with respect to payment stablecoins held by such person described in subsection (a), unless the customer expressly consents to the priority of such other claim.

(d) Regulatory Information.–A person described under subsection (a) shall submit to the applicable primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator information concerning the person's business operations and processes to protect customer assets, in such form and manner as the primary regulator shall determine.

(e) Exclusion.–The requirements of this section shall not apply to any person solely on the basis that such person engages in the business of providing hardware or software to facilitate a customer's own custody or safekeeping of the customer's payment stablecoins or private keys.

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§11 Treatment of issuers in insolvency proceedings

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§12 Interoperability standards

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §12

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

The primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators, in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, other relevant standard-setting organizations, and State bank and credit union regulators, shall assess and, if necessary, may, pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, and in a manner consistent with the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-113), prescribe standards for permitted payment stablecoin issuers to promote compatibility and interoperability with–

(1) other permitted payment stablecoin issuers; and

(2) the broader digital finance ecosystem, including accepted communications protocols and blockchains, permissioned or public.

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§13 Rulemaking

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §13

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) In General.–Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator, the Secretary of the Treasury, and each State payment stablecoin regulator shall promulgate regulations to carry out this Act through appropriate notice and comment rulemaking.

(b) Coordination.–Federal payment stablecoin regulators, the Secretary of the Treasury, and State payment stablecoin regulators should coordinate, as appropriate, on the issuance of any regulations to implement this Act.

(c) Report Required.–Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this Act, each Federal banking agency shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report that confirms and describes the regulations promulgated to carry out this Act.

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§14 Study on non-payment stablecoins

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §14

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) Study by Treasury.–

(1) Study.–The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Board, the Comptroller, the Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall carry out a study of non-payment stablecoins, including endogenously collateralized payment stablecoins.

(2) Report.–Not later than 365 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report that contains all findings made in carrying out the study under paragraph (1), including an analysis of–

(A) the categories of non-payment stablecoins, including the benefits and risks of technological design features;

(B) the participants in non-payment stablecoin arrangements;

(D) the nature of reserve compositions;

(E) types of algorithms being employed;

(F) governance structure, including aspects of decentralization;

(G) the nature of public promotion and advertising; and

(H) the clarity and availability of consumer notices disclosures.

(3) Classified annex.–A report under this section may include a classified annex, if applicable.

(b) Endogenously Collateralized Payment Stablecoin Defined.–In this section, the term “endogenously collateralized payment stablecoin” means any digital asset–

(1) the originator of which has represented will be converted, redeemed, or repurchased for a fixed amount of monetary value; and

(2) that relies solely on the value of another digital asset created or maintained by the same originator to maintain the fixed price.

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§15 Reports

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §15

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) Annual Reporting Requirement.–Beginning on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators, in consultation with State payment stablecoin regulators, as necessary, shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and the Director of the Office of Financial Research a report, which may include a classified annex, if applicable, on the status of the payment stablecoin industry, including–

(1) a summary of trends in payment stablecoin activities;

(2) a summary of the number of applications for approval as a permitted payment stablecoin issuer under section 5, including aggregate approvals and rejections of applications; and

(3) a description of the potential financial stability risks posed to the safety and soundness of the broader financial system by payment stablecoin activities.

(b) FSOC Report.–The Financial Stability Oversight Council shall incorporate the findings in the report under subsection (a) into the annual report of the Council required under section 112(a)(2)(N) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5322(a)(2)(N)).

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§16 Authority of banking institutions

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §16

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) Rule of Construction.–Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of a depository institution, Federal credit union, State credit union, national bank, or trust company to engage in activities permissible pursuant to applicable State and Federal law, including–

(1) accepting or receiving deposits or shares (in the case of a credit union), and issuing digital assets that represent those deposits or shares;

(2) utilizing a distributed ledger for the books and records of the entity and to effect intrabank transfers; and

(3) providing custodial services for payment stablecoins, private keys of payment stablecoins, or reserves backing payment stablecoins.

(b) Regulatory Review.–Entities regulated by the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators are authorized to engage in the payment stablecoin activities and investments contemplated by this Act, including acting as a principal or agent with respect to any payment stablecoin and payment of fees to facilitate customer transactions. The primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators shall review all existing guidance and regulations, and if necessary, amend or promulgate new regulations and guidance, to clarify that regulated entities are authorized to engage in such activities and investments.

(c) Treatment of Custody Activities.–The appropriate Federal banking agency, the National Credit Union Administration (in the case of a credit union), and the Securities and Exchange Commission may not require a depository institution, national bank, Federal credit union, State credit union, or trust company, or any affiliate thereof–

(1) to include digital assets held in custody that are not owned by the entity as a liability on the financial statement or balance sheet of the entity, including payment stablecoin custody or safekeeping activities; or

(2) to hold in custody or safekeeping regulatory capital against digital assets and reserves backing such assets described in section 4(a)(1)(A), except as necessary to mitigate against operational risks inherent in custody or safekeeping services, as determined by–

(A) the appropriate Federal banking agency;

(B) the National Credit Union Administration (in the case of a credit union);

(D) a State credit union supervisor.

(d) State-chartered Depository Institutions.–

(1) In general.–A depository institution chartered under the banking laws of a State, that has a subsidiary that is a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, may engage in the business of money transmission or provide custodial services through the permitted payment stablecoin issuer in any State if such State-chartered depository institution is–

(A) required by the laws or regulations of the home State to establish and maintain adequate liquidity, and such liquidity is regularly reassessed by the home State banking supervisor to take into account any changes in the financial condition and risk profile of the institution, including any uninsured deposits maintained by such institution; and

(B) required by the laws or regulations of the home State to establish and maintain adequate capital, and such capital is regularly reassessed by the home State banking supervisor to take into account any changes in the financial condition and risk profile of the institution, including any uninsured deposits maintained by such institution.

(2) Rule of construction.–Nothing in this section shall limit, or be construed to limit, the authority of a host State bank regulator, to perform examinations of a depository institution's subsidiary permitted payment stablecoin issuer or activities conducted through the permitted payment stablecoin issuer to ensure compliance with host State consumer protection laws that the host State bank regulator has specific jurisdiction to enforce, which shall apply to such institution consistent with section 7(f).

(e) Definitions.–In this section:

(1) Home state.–The term “home State” means the State by which the depository institution is chartered.

(2) Host state.–The term “host State” means a State in which a depository institution establishes a branch, solicits customers, or otherwise engages in business activities, other than the home State.

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§17 Not securities or commodities; issuers not investment companies

**Citation:** Pub. L. 119–27, §17
**Source:** govinfo PLAW-119publ27

(a) Investment Advisers Act of 1940.–Section 202(a)(18) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)(18)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “The term `security' does not include a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such terms are defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act.”.

(b) Investment Company Act of 1940.–The Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) is amended (1) in section 2(a)(36) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(36)), by adding at the end the following: “The term `security' does not include a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such terms are defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act.”; and

(2) in section 3(c)(3) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c)(3)), by inserting “any permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such term is defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act;” after “therefor;”.

(c) Securities Act of 1933.–Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “The term `security' does not include a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such terms are defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act.”.

(d) Securities Exchange Act of 1934.–Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(10)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “The term `security' does not include a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such terms are defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act.”.

(e) Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970.–Section 16(14) of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 78lll(14)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “The term `security' does not include a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such terms are defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act.”.

(f) Commodity Exchange Act.–Section 1a(9) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a(9)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “The term `commodity' does not include a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as such terms are defined in section 2 of the GENIUS Act.”.

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§18 Foreign issuers and reciprocity

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§19 Disclosure relating to payment stablecoins

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §19

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

Section 13104(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by striking “, or any deposits” and inserting “, any payment stablecoins issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer aggregating $5,000 or less held, or any deposits”.

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§20 Effective date

Citation: Pub. L. 119–27, §20

Source: govinfo PLAW-119publ27

This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the earlier of

(1) the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act; or

(2) the date that is 120 days after the date on which the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators issue any final regulations implementing this Act.

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