Crypto▼ Bearish
Treasury Stablecoin Plan Tests Issuers' Ability to Freeze Tokens
The Treasury's GENIUS Act guidance gives exchanges 18 months to cut unauthorized stablecoins after the law takes effect Jan. 18, 2027, plus 60 days for comment.
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The US Treasury proposed guidance that would require crypto exchanges to verify the issuers behind the stablecoins they list for American customers, with a July 18, 2028 deadline for pulling tokens that do not meet the standard. The proposal implements parts of the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law expected to take effect Jan. 18, 2027.
A foreign issuer that wants to serve the US market would be bound by the same requirements as a domestic one, the agency said. Foreign companies can also gain entry when the Treasury deems their home country's regulatory system comparable to US standards and they register with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the US agency that charters national banks.
An issuer may need to show it can freeze or burn its tokens, and halt transfers, when a US legal order demands it. Exchanges would have to verify those capabilities themselves rather than take the issuer's word, the Treasury said.
A transaction falls under the rules when either the issuer or the recipient is in the US. Foreign issuers that want to stay out of the American market may therefore need controls that keep their stablecoins from reaching US users, the Treasury said.