Treasury Seeks Public Comment on GENIUS Act Licensing Rules

As the Treasury Department prepares to implement the GENIUS Act, it is seeking comment on its proposed framework for how to decide when a payment stablecoin issuer needs to obtain a GENIUS license as well as when and how payment stablecoins can be offered and sold in U.S. markets, the department said in a Monday (Aug. 17) press release.

The Treasury Department requests comments on these issues in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) issued Monday.

These issues are related to section 3 of the GENIUS Act, according to the release.

They include the GENIUS Act’s requirements that a person generally may not “issue a payment stablecoin in the United States” unless they have obtained an appropriate federal or state license; that digital asset service providers may not make available foreign-issued payment stablecoins unless the foreign issuer can and will comply with the terms of any lawful order and any reciprocal arrangement between the U.S. and the issuer’s home jurisdiction; and that digital asset service providers generally may not offer or sell any payment stablecoins to people in the U.S. unless the payment stablecoins are issued by a licensed issuer, the release said.

The Treasury Department’s NPRM outlines its proposed framework for implementing these requirements and aims to provide clarity to the industry regarding when an issuer needs to obtain a GENIUS license as well as when and how payment stablecoins can be offered and sold in U.S. markets, per the release.

Treasury will accept comments on the NPRM for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

“President Trump and Congress delivered the GENIUS Act, establishing a landmark framework and clear rules of the road for payment stablecoins, and Treasury is moving quickly to implement that framework,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release. “Treasury welcomes input from stakeholders as we work to provide the regulatory certainty businesses need to innovate and grow in America, cement the role of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency and keep America the crypto capital of the world.”

PYMNTS reported in July 2025 that when Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, the Act became the country’s first-ever piece of crypto legislation and signaled a potential new era for crypto, or at least stablecoins, in the U.S.

The Treasury Department issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) related to its implementation of the stablecoin law in September. Before that, in August 2025, it issued a request for comment focused on ways to detect illicit activity involving digital assets.