US regulator finalises stablecoin rules

What happened

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which supervises national banks, issued its final rule under the GENIUS Act on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. According to CoinDesk, it is the first final rule from a federal banking regulator under the law, which Congress passed in July 2025 to create a federal framework for payment stablecoins. The OCC says the rule will take effect on 18 January 2027. Searches for "occ stablecoin" and "genius act" rose in the United States after the announcement.

What the rule covers

Most of the requirements sit in a new part of the US federal rulebook, 12 CFR part 15. They apply to stablecoin issuers under the OCC's reach: national banks and federal savings associations and their subsidiaries, federal branches, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, non-bank firms that seek federal approval, and some state-level issuers. The rule covers reserve assets, redemption, risk management, audits and reporting, custody, applications, and a capital and operational backstop. CoinDesk reports that the reserve rules moved to a principles-based approach on diversification and concentration, with a daily minimum level of liquid assets. Anti-money-laundering and sanctions requirements are not part of this rule; the OCC says they will come in a separate rulemaking with the US Treasury.

The question of stablecoin rewards

The GENIUS Act bars issuers from paying interest to holders solely for holding, using or keeping a payment stablecoin. In its final text, the OCC dropped the "rebuttable presumptions" from its draft, which would have treated some arrangements as violations by default. Instead it will look at each arrangement on its facts, CoinDesk reports, and existing rewards programmes run with exchanges get no special safe harbour. Banks see such rewards as a threat to deposits, while crypto firms read the law as allowing rewards on other platforms.

What is a stablecoin, and why rules matter for payments

If you are asking what a stablecoin is: it is a crypto token designed to hold a steady value against a currency, usually the US dollar. USDT and USDC are the best-known examples, although a stable value is not guaranteed. For payments, the questions people care about most are what backs each token and how quickly it can be turned back into dollars, which is why reserves and redemption sit at the centre of the OCC rule. The rule is aimed at issuers, not at people who hold or send stablecoins.

The wider US picture, including the CFTC

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which trended in Google searches in the Philippines this week, is working on a separate track. On 5 October it published an advance notice on retail crypto transactions offered with leverage or margin, setting out two possible frameworks, Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, according to the investment industry body AIMA. That notice contains no rule text yet; comments are due within 60 days of its publication in the Federal Register.

What to watch next

Other agencies still have work to do. CoinDesk notes that the Treasury proposed its own GENIUS Act rule in August, the Federal Reserve proposed rules for member-bank subsidiaries in September, and the FDIC has issued its own proposals. It adds that no regulator met the law's mid-year deadline and that not every rule is likely to be final by January. Watch how the OCC applies the rewards test in practice and how the Treasury treats foreign issuers.

What it means for Odix Pay users

Odix Pay does not issue stablecoins. Where it is available in your country, you can top up your Odix Pay balance with USDT or USDC, or add USDT or USDC in the app through our licensed partner, which carries out the transaction. Rules like this one aim to make the reserves behind stablecoins clearer, so it helps to know what you hold. Availability depends on your country, and fees are shown in the app. More stories in the Odix Pay newsroom.

Related guides — What are stablecoins? USDT and USDC explained · How to top up with USDT or USDC

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