Federal Reserve proposes GENIUS Act reserve, capital and bank issuance rules
The Federal Reserve proposed rules on Sept. 24 requiring full reserve backing and tiered capital charges for the stablecoin issuers it supervises, plus an application path for banks.
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Why it matters
The two proposals give the issuers and banks the Fed oversees their first concrete terms on reserve composition, capital, redemptions and disclosure, and the tiered operational-risk charge lowers the marginal rate for the largest issuers. CoinDesk reported the agencies are past the July 2026 deadline the Act set for them, so the text can still change through the 60-day comment period, and the two accounts of the liquidation trigger remain unreconciled.
Where the sources disagree
What triggers a supervised issuer to liquidate reserves and redeem its stablecoins
Reserves falling below the required one-to-one backing, after notifying the Fed, with a remediation plan as the alternative
Cointelegraph
An issuer that stays deficient on required capital long enough
Bitcoin.com News
Cointelegraph reports the remedy follows a reserve shortfall against the one-to-one backing requirement, while Bitcoin.com reports it follows a prolonged shortfall against required capital, and neither account reconciles the two triggers.
How the Fed's proposals treat stablecoin yield and reward programs
Fed rules on rewards and yield written to closely match the OCC's already proposed policies
CoinDesk
The proposal presumes some yield deals are prohibited
Unchained
CoinDesk reports the Fed sought to closely match policies already suggested by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, while Unchained characterizes the proposal as presuming some yield deals are prohibited.
Key facts
The Federal Reserve opened public comment on September 24, 2026 on two proposals to implement the GENIUS Act, with a 60-day comment period that starts when the notices publish in the Federal Register.
60 daysReported by CoinGape
Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers would have to hold permitted reserve assets worth at least the par value of their outstanding stablecoins at all times.
Reported by CoinGape
The operational-risk capital charge would be 2% of the first $20 billion in stablecoins outstanding, 1.5% of the next $30 billion and 1% of amounts above $50 billion.
2 %Reported by Cointelegraph
Unchained reported a second capital charge equal to 25% of an issuer's three-year average revenue from activities outside its reserves, plus a 2% requirement on reserves held as uninsured deposits or undercollateralized reverse repos.
25 %Reported by Unchained
Sources differ on what triggers the forced liquidation remedy, with Cointelegraph tying it to reserves falling below the required one-to-one backing and Bitcoin.com tying it to an issuer staying short of required capital.
Disputed figureReported by Bitcoin.com News
The second proposal would set a tailored application process, including appeals and hearings, for Board-supervised banks and insured state member banks seeking to issue payment stablecoins through a subsidiary, and Bitcoin.com reported the GENIUS Act gives the Fed 120 days to decide complete bank applications.
120 daysReported by Bitcoin.com News
Unchained, citing a staff memo to the Board, reported the rules would cover approved bank subsidiaries and uninsured state-chartered issuers with at least $10 billion in stablecoins outstanding that move under Fed supervision.
10,000,000,000 USDReported by Unchained
What happened
The Federal Reserve opened public comment on September 24 on two proposals to implement the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law President Donald Trump signed in July 2025, with the 60-day comment period beginning only when the notices publish in the Federal Register. The first would require Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to hold permitted assets worth at least the par value of their outstanding tokens at all times. Unchained, citing a staff memo to the Board, lists those permitted assets as cash, Federal Reserve balances, demand deposits, Treasuries maturing in 93 days or less, certain overnight repo and reverse repo, funds holding only those assets, and tokenized versions of some of them, while CoinGape, The Block and Decrypt describe them in broader terms as short-term Treasury bills and 'certain other high-quality, liquid assets'. Cointelegraph and Unchained both report an operational-risk capital charge of 2% on an issuer's first $20 billion of stablecoins, 1.5% on the next $30 billion and 1% above $50 billion, and Unchained reports a second charge equal to 25% of an issuer's three-year average revenue from activities outside its reserves, alongside a 2% requirement on reserves held as uninsured deposits or undercollateralized reverse repos. Issuers would have to complete redemptions within two business days and publish monthly reports on outstanding stablecoins and their reserves, and the accounts diverge on what forces liquidation, with Cointelegraph tying the remedy to reserves falling below one-to-one backing and Bitcoin.com tying it to staying short of required capital. The second proposal builds a tailored application process, with appeal and hearing procedures, for Board-supervised banks and insured state member banks that want to issue payment stablecoins through a subsidiary, and Bitcoin.com reported the Act gives the Fed 120 days to decide complete bank applications.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by CoinGape
Federal Reserve Unveils Two Proposals for Stablecoin Issuers Under GENIUS Act
- Update
Fed opens comment on two GENIUS Act proposals
One proposal sets reserve, capital and risk-management rules for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers, the other an application process for banks issuing through a subsidiary.
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by The Block
Fed proposes reserve limits, capital standards for stablecoin issuers under GENIUS Act
- Update
The Block reports Barr's qualified support and the reserve-asset limits
Governor Michael Barr backed the proposal while pressing for more on bank anti-money laundering; the reserve proposal would limit issuers to short-term Treasury bills or other highly liquid assets.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Fed’s Proposed Stablecoin Rules Put GENIUS Act’s Dollar Test to Work
- Update
Bitcoin.com describes dollar-level backing, two-day redemptions and a 120-day application window
The account says each $1 of tokens needs at least $1 of permitted reserves and ties forced liquidation to a capital shortfall rather than a reserve shortfall.
- Update
CoinDesk reports the Fed is past the Act's July 2026 rulemaking deadline
CoinDesk said the agencies are well past the legal deadline and that the Fed's yield and rewards rules echo the OCC's own proposal.
- Update
Unchained publishes the capital charges and coverage from a Board staff memo
The staff memo sets out the 2%/1.5%/1% operational-risk tiers, the 25% non-reserve revenue charge, a 2% charge on uninsured deposits and undercollateralized reverse repos, and a $10 billion threshold for uninsured state-chartered issuers under Fed supervision.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 24 Sept 2026, 19:09 UTC: CoinGape — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 20:19 UTC: The Block — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 20:45 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 20:57 UTC: Crypto.News — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 21:56 UTC: Decrypt — 5 independent sources, 5 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 22:10 UTC: Cointelegraph — 6 independent sources, 6 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 22:28 UTC: CoinDesk — 7 independent sources, 7 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 05:34 UTC: Bitcoin Insider — 8 independent sources, 8 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 06:17 UTC: TheNewsCrypto — 9 independent sources, 9 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 10:22 UTC: Unchained — 10 independent sources, 11 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 19:30 UTC: NewsBTC — 11 independent sources, 12 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: BlackRock, Brian Armstrong, Goldman Sachs, U.S. Congress, Internal Revenue Service
Original sources
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