Bipartisan Senators Push Treasury for State Stablecoin Rule Details

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pressing the Treasury Department to publish clear procedures for states that want to regulate stablecoin issuers under last year's GENIUS Act. The lawmakers, led by Republican Cynthia Lummis, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday arguing that the department's April proposal failed to explain how states would apply for regulatory authority.

The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, allows state oversight of stablecoin issuers with market capitalizations at or below $10 billion. Only three stablecoins exceed that threshold: Tether and USDC, plus USDS. Every other stablecoin would operate under state supervision, making state participation central to the law's design.

"Treasury's proposed principles did not address the timeline and procedural requirements related to state certification," the letter said. The senators worried that without explicit guidance, states could interpret the certification process as a limited-time window that, once closed, would permanently bar new entrants.

The letter also carried signatures from Republicans Bill Hagerty and Kevin Cramer, along with Pete Ricketts, plus Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand and Angela Alsobrooks, as well as Catherine Cortez Masto. The group stressed that Congress intended the GENIUS Act to preserve the "dual banking system" where federal and state authorities share oversight.