What does the GENIUS Act require?

The US GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, requires one-to-one reserves in cash, insured deposits or short-term Treasuries, audited monthly reserve reports, approved issuers only and no interest paid to holders. It takes effect on January 18, 2027.

Main requirements

• Only permitted issuers: subsidiaries of insured banks, approved non-bank issuers, or state-qualified issuers under certain size limits.
• Reserves of at least one dollar for every token, held in high-quality liquid assets.
• Monthly public disclosure of reserves, examined by an accounting firm.
• No interest or yield paid to holders by the issuer.
• Compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions rules, including the ability to freeze tokens when legally required.
• Priority for holders over other creditors if the issuer fails.

Foreign issuers

Stablecoins issued abroad can be offered in the US only if their home regime is considered comparable and the issuer meets specific conditions.

What it means for the market

The law gives stablecoins a clear legal status in the US and is expected to encourage banks and payment companies to issue or accept them, while excluding unregulated issuers.

What it means for payment operators

For platforms with US merchants, compliant stablecoins may become a regulated payment rail. Keeping your payment network open to new rails lets you add them when your merchants ask.