Joint Trades Comment on GENIUS Act for the Issuance of Stablecoins by the Federal Payment Stablecoin Regulators

Dear Comptroller Gould, Vice Chair Bowman, Chairman Hill, and Chairman Hauptman:

The undersigned trade associations (the "Associations")^[1] are writing to emphasize the importance of coordination among your agencies in finalizing rules under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act.^[2] The GENIUS Act generally prohibits any person other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer ("PPSI")^[3] from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States.^[4] It further prohibits digital asset service providers^[5] from offering or selling a payment stablecoin to a person in the United States unless the issuer is a PPSI or the issuer is a foreign payment stablecoin issuer that meets certain requirements.^[6] The GENIUS Act sets forth various regulatory and licensing requirements for PPSIs and foreign payment stablecoin issuers and requires your agencies - the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators^[7] - and the Department of the Treasury to issue regulations to establish a Federal payment stablecoin regulatory framework.^[8] The way in which the GENIUS Act is implemented, and the prudential and compliance requirements that will apply to payment stablecoin issuers, could have significant effects on financial stability, credit creation, consumer protection, illicit finance risk, and the broader economy.

Indeed, we have recently written to you to express our deep concern about the potential risks that payment stablecoin issuers and their activities pose to the larger financial system.^[9] Our letter highlights that payment stablecoin issuers are vulnerable to runs, rapid redemption of payment stablecoins can cause contagion, the growth of payment stablecoins could cause credit to contract, and stablecoin lending presents risks for the broader financial system. We sent this letter in connection with the requirement under section 15(a) of the GENIUS Act that the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators annually prepare a report on the payment stablecoin industry that includes "a description of the potential financial stability risks posed to the safety and soundness of the broader financial system by payment stablecoin activities." However, these same risks should inform each agency's rulemaking under the GENIUS Act more generally. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the requirements that apply to PPSIs are identical under your respective rulemakings to guard against the risks that are presented by payment stablecoins and prevent regulatory arbitrage.

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[1] Please see Annex A for a description of the Associations.

[2] 12 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.

[3] The GENIUS Act defines a "permitted payment stablecoin issuer" as "a person formed in the United States that is-(A) a subsidiary of an insured depository institution that has been approved to issue payment stablecoins under section 5904 of this title; (B) a Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer; or (C) a State qualified payment stablecoin issuer.12 U.S.C. 5901(23).

[4] See 12 U.S.C. 5902(a). See also 12 U.S.C. 5916 (excepting foreign payment stablecoin issuers that meet certain requirements from the prohibition in section 3 of the Act).

[5] "Digital asset service provider" means a person that, for compensation or profit, engages in the business in the United States (including on behalf of customers or users in the United States) of: (1) exchanging digital assets for monetary value; (2) exchanging digital assets for other digital assets; (3) transferring digital assets to a third party; (4) acting as a digital asset custodian; or (5) participating in financial services relating to digital asset issuance. See 12 U.S.C. 5901(7). The term "digital asset service provider" does not include (1) a distributed ledger protocol; (2) an immutable and self-custodial software interface; or (3) a person solely by virtue of their (A) developing, operating, or engaging in the business of developing distributed ledger protocols or self-custodial software interfaces; (B) developing, operating, or engaging in the business of validating transactions or operating a distributed ledger; or (C) participating in a liquidity pool or other similar mechanism for the provisioning of liquidity for peer-to-peer transactions. See id. A liquidity pool is a portfolio of digital assets that is algorithmically bound and traded based on smart contracts. Liquidity providers and takers interact with liquidity pools by adding assets that the liquidity pools trade and receive a liquidity pool token in return that is proportionate to the percentage of assets they have contributed to the liquidity pool. See White House, "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology," at 23 (July 17, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Digital-Assets-Report- EO14178.pdf.

[6] The prohibition against digital asset service providers offering or selling payment stablecoins that are not issued by permitted payment stablecoin issuers begins on July 18, 2028. See 12 U.S.C. 5901(7). The prohibition against digital asset service providers offering or selling payment stablecoins that are not issued by foreign payment stablecoin issuers that meet certain requirements goes into effect as of the effective date of the GENIUS Act. See 12 U.S.C. 5902(b)(2). The prohibitions that apply to a digital asset service provider would apply to an issuer to the extent that the issuer is a digital asset service provider.

[7] The primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators are the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board, and the National Credit Union Administration. See 12 U.S.C. 5901(25).

[8] See 12 U.S.C. 5913.

[9] ABA, BPI, CBA, and ICBA, Joint Letter to Federal Stablecoin Regulators re: Sec 15(a) Reporting Requirement (May 22, 2026), https://www.aba.com/advocacy/policy-analysis/joint-letter-to-federal-stablecoin-regulators-re-sec-15a-reporting-requirement.