The Federal Reserve on September 24 proposed two rules to implement the GENIUS Act, opening a 60-day public comment period on a framework that would compel Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to fully back outstanding tokens with high-quality liquid assets, including short-term U.S. Treasury bills. The proposals, released at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, mark the central bank's most concrete step to date in writing its portion of the federal stablecoin statute into supervisory practice.

What does the first proposal change for issuers?

The first rule would require Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to hold reserve assets whose value equals or exceeds outstanding token supply at all times. Permissible reserves would include:

• Short-term Treasury bills
• Other high-quality liquid assets the proposal defines

Issuers would also face standardized capital requirements calibrated to the credit and operational risks of stablecoin activity, alongside risk-management standards mandated by the GENIUS Act. The same proposal would set supervisory rules for Board-supervised firms that act as custodians of stablecoin reserves and clarify which stablecoin-related activities are permissible for Board-supervised banks.

For the industry, the package formalizes reserve composition, capital adequacy and custody treatment under a single federal rubric. Until now, U.S. issuers have operated under a patchwork of state money-transmitter regimes, with the largest operators holding attestations rather than full regulatory charters. The Fed's framework would replace that ambiguity with a defined supervisory perimeter for institutions under its authority.

What is the second proposal doing?

The companion rule would establish a tailored application and approval track for Board-supervised banks seeking to issue dollar-pegged stablecoins. Applicants would need to file:

• A written business plan
• Financial information
• Other documents the Fed specifies

The draft also sets out a defined process for appeals, administrative hearings and final determinations. By creating a separate channel for depository institutions, the Fed is signaling that bank entry into stablecoin issuance will run through a dedicated supervisory queue, distinct from the broader activity-permissibility questions addressed in the first proposal.

Where does this fit in U.S. crypto policy?

The rulemaking sits inside a wider federal push to codify digital-asset oversight. The GENIUS Act, formally the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, sets the overarching federal framework for payment stablecoin issuance. The Fed's two rules cover issuers and reserve custodians under its direct supervision, while the still-pending CLARITY Act targets market-structure oversight for digital assets more broadly. Together, the three instruments would map the boundary between securities-style trading oversight, banking supervision and stablecoin-specific rules.

What comes next?

The comment period closes 60 days after the proposals publish in the Federal Register. After that window, the Fed will review submissions and revise the language before final adoption. The timeline carries weight: European regulators are moving in the opposite direction, with the European Central Bank pushing to restrict stablecoin yields and tighten issuance standards under MiCA. A finalized U.S. framework within that window would give dollar-denominated stablecoins a clearer compliance footing at the moment their transatlantic peers face fresh constraints.