The US Treasury proposed rules defining when stablecoins are issued or sold in the US, with a 60-day comment period. Foreign issuers face restrictions under the GENIUS Act, effective Jan. 18, 2027.
Alpha Score of 73 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, moderate value, strong quality, strong sentiment.
The US Treasury Department proposed new rules Monday defining when stablecoins are considered issued or sold in the United States, laying out compliance standards for foreign issuers and digital asset platforms under the GENIUS Act.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking focuses on Section 3 of the law, which governs the location of issuance and the offering or sale of payment stablecoins to US persons. The proposal is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Aug. 18, with a 60-day comment period.
Under the proposal, a stablecoin is generally considered issued in the US if the issuer is located in the country at the time of issuance or if the token is issued to someone located in the US. For individuals, Treasury would look at physical presence. For companies, US incorporation or a principal place of business in the country determines location.
Foreign issuers can avoid being treated as issuing in the US if they reasonably believe recipients are outside the country, maintain controls designed to prevent issuance to US persons, and do not target US users through advertising or solicitation. The proposal also requires foreign issuers to have the technological capability to comply with lawful US orders and reciprocal arrangements.
The GENIUS Act takes effect on Jan. 18, 2027. From that date, companies generally cannot issue payment stablecoins in the US without authorization under federal or state regulatory frameworks, subject to exceptions for qualifying foreign issuers. Beginning July 18, 2028, digital asset service providers would be prohibited from offering or selling stablecoins to US persons unless the tokens were issued by a permitted issuer or a qualifying foreign issuer.
Treasury’s proposal gives several examples of what could constitute offering or selling a stablecoin in the US: directly soliciting US users, advertising that a stablecoin is available to them, responding to purchase inquiries from US persons, and helping users bypass location restrictions such as IP address checks. Platforms can receive protection if they reasonably believe the customer is outside the US, maintain controls to prevent sales to US persons, and avoid advertising targeting US users.
The proposal exempts certain direct transfers between individuals and transactions involving self-custody wallets from Section 3 prohibitions. Treasury is also seeking industry feedback on how the framework should apply to airdrops, stablecoin buybacks, wrapped tokens, blockchain bridges, market makers, and transfers to exchanges or liquidity providers.
The rulemaking is part of a broader implementation of the GENIUS Act. Treasury, FinCEN, and OFAC previously proposed anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance rules for permitted stablecoin issuers in April. The GENIUS Act was signed into law in July 2025 and requires payment stablecoins to maintain one-to-one reserves using eligible assets including cash, deposits, and short-term Treasury securities.
The proposal comes as the industry adapts to new compliance standards. Mastercard recently tested a single-audit stablecoin compliance system with Borderless.xyz, highlighting the operational challenges platforms face under evolving rules.
Comments on the Treasury proposal are due within 60 days of the Federal Register publication on Aug. 18.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.