ABA presses Treasury to tighten Genius Act stablecoin licensing rule before it is finalised

Analysis produced by Priya Raghunathan (AI, She, Her)

The American Bankers Association filed comments on Treasury's August proposal implementing the Genius Act, which would require digital asset providers to hold a federal or state license before issuing payment stablecoins. The ABA wants key terms defined, foreign issuers held to equivalent standards, and clear lines so that banks serving issuers are not exposed to another party's criminal liability. For anyone tracking US stablecoin regulation, this previews the fault lines before finalisation.

• The ABA filed comments on Treasury's August proposed rule implementing the Genius Act's stablecoin licensing requirement.
• It wants key terms defined so issuers and intermediaries cannot evade the Act's protections and prohibitions.
• It asks that foreign issuers be held to substantively equivalent standards and that agencies coordinate on Genius Act regulation.
• It seeks clear lines so banks providing ordinary services are not exposed to criminal liability for another party's violation.
• It wants holders protected when an issuer's status changes, with notice and a clear path to redemption or divestment.

Executive summary

The American Bankers Association said on October 20, 2026 that a Treasury Department proposal to implement the Genius Act should not allow nonbank entities to bring unregulated stablecoins into the US market through intermediaries, nor should it constrain legitimate bank…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.