OCC projects a November final rule for supervised payment-stablecoin issuers

What changed

Comptroller Jonathan Gould stated that the OCC expects to issue its final GENIUS Act rule by November 2026. He also reported that 23 of 40 recent national-bank charter applications include some form of digital-asset activity and described stablecoin integration as increasingly ordinary in the OCC's applicant pipeline. The remarks are an official timing and supervisory signal; they do not adopt or make the pending rule effective.

Who it affects

• National banks and federal savings associations evaluating payment-stablecoin activity
• Nonbank applicants seeking OCC-supervised payment-stablecoin issuer status or bank charters
• Advisers, custodians, and clients evaluating OCC-supervised stablecoin structures

What is still open

• Whether the OCC will meet the stated November target
• The final eligibility, licensing, reserve, capital, liquidity, redemption, governance, reporting, enforcement, and transition provisions
• How the final OCC rule will coordinate with Treasury and other regulators' GENIUS Act rules

What it means for an advisor

• Track the OCC rulemaking for a final release rather than treating the November target as an effective date
• For proposed OCC-supervised stablecoin exposure, distinguish pending applicants from approved issuers and document the limits of current authorization
• Prepare to reassess issuer due diligence, reserve custody, redemption, disclosures, and counterparty controls when final text is issued

Previous interpretation

The OCC's March 2 proposal remained pending without an agency-stated month for issuance of the final rule.