OCC Sets $5 Million Stablecoin Capital Floor

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the US Treasury bureau that charters and supervises national banks, has finalised its payment stablecoin rules, effective 18 January 2027. The OCC announced the final rule yesterday, 21 October 2026, in News Release 2026-92 and Bulletin 2026-50. It implements the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), which takes effect the same day. It covers every regulation the OCC must issue under the Act except Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions rules, which follow in a separate rulemaking with Treasury.

The rule creates Part 15 of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), covering permitted activities, reserve assets (the assets backing each coin), redemption, risk management, audits, custody, applications and supervision of foreign issuers. A newly approved issuer, meaning one approved within the prior three years, must hold capital of the greater of its OCC licensing-condition amount or $5 million for 36 months or a period the OCC sets, then at least $5 million plus capital matching all risks. An operational backstop, a separate pool equal to 12 months of total expenses, must sit apart from reserve assets in US currency, Federal Reserve Bank balances, fully insured demand deposits or US Treasury securities maturing in 93 days or less. An issuer must tell the OCC within 24 hours of missing either minimum. The OCC says the capital and backstop requirements are more detailed than the proposal but consistent with it. Jonathan V. Gould, Comptroller of the Currency, said:

We are providing a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation, with strong standards for reserve backing, redemption, and risk management.

Jonathan V. Gould, Comptroller of the Currency

The rule applies to national banks, federal savings associations, federal branches and their subsidiaries, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, nonbank firms seeking federal qualified issuer status, and state qualified issuers where the OCC has authority. From 18 January 2027 a person generally must be an approved issuer to issue a payment stablecoin in the US, and unapproved issuance carries criminal penalties. The Federal Reserve Board proposed separate rules for issuers it supervises on 24 September.

The OCC will accept applications and waiver requests only after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves the forms, and will announce that separately. A waiver lets an issuer with a substantially complete application pending, one the OCC has found sufficiently complete to assess, seek relief from requirements for up to 12 months from 18 January 2027. The OCC generally expects to grant such waivers to existing US issuers. Under Bulletin 2026-51 it notifies completeness within 30 days and decides within 120 days of completeness.

Sources: OCC News Release 2026-92 and final rule