Treasury Issues Second Call for Comment on GENIUS Act

The Treasury Department has issued another call for public comment as it prepares to implement the new stablecoin law, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.

Treasury issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) Thursday (Sept. 18) related to its implementation of the GENIUS Act.

This ANPRM builds upon a request for comment issued Aug. 18 that focuses on ways to detect illicit activity involving digital assets, Treasury said in a Thursday press release.

In the press release, Treasury said that the ANPRM issued Thursday allows the public to contribute to the implementation of the GENIUS Act and that it invites comments from a wide range of stakeholders.

“The GENIUS Act tasks Treasury with issuing regulations that encourage innovation in payment stablecoins while also providing an appropriately tailored regime to protect consumers, mitigate potential illicit finance risks and address financial stability risks,” the release said. “Today’s ANPRM invites the public to offer comments, including providing data and other information, that may be useful for Treasury to consider.”

When announcing the earlier request for comment in an Aug. 18 press release, Treasury said it sought comment on ways to detect illicit activity involving digital assets while supporting the responsible growth and use of digital assets.

In that request, Treasury said it was especially interested in the use of application programming interfaces, artificial intelligence, digital identity verification, and blockchain technology and monitoring.

“Innovative tools are critical to advancing efforts to address illicit finance risks but can also present new resource burdens for financial institutions,” Treasury said in the Aug. 18 release. “As required by the GENIUS Act, Treasury will use public comments to inform research on the effectiveness, costs, privacy and cybersecurity risks, and other considerations related to these tools.”

President Donald Trump signed into law the GENIUS Act, which is the country’s first piece of crypto legislation, on July 18.

PYMNTS reported at the time that the long-awaited policy framework could signal a new era for crypto in the U.S., or at least for stablecoins, which it was written to regulate, as it was part of a regulatory momentum aimed at reshaping the future of digital assets.