Treasury Proposes GENIUS Act Rules to Restrict Stablecoin Issuance and Sales
The U.S. Treasury has proposed rules to limit the issuance and sales of stablecoins in the country, as part of the GENIUS Act framework established by President Trump and Congress.
According to the proposal, a stablecoin is considered 'issued' in the United States when it is first transferred by an issuer that gives another person the right to use, transfer or redeem the token. This definition would make it unlawful for anyone other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer to issue a payment stablecoin in the U.S., with fines of up to $1 million and up to five years in prison for violations.
The proposal also defines when a platform is considered to offer or sell a stablecoin to someone in the country, including examples such as directly soliciting U.S. users, advertising that a stablecoin is available to them, responding to purchase inquiries from people in the country, and helping users bypass location restrictions such as IP address checks.
The Treasury has scheduled to publish the proposal in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and comments will be accepted for 60 days after publication.