U.S. stablecoin rule targets issuers, not wallet transfers

The agencies said such programs help institutions form a reasonable belief they know their customers' true identities, supporting anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts. The proposal would apply to both federal and state-qualified stablecoin issuers operating under the GENIUS Act framework.

What the proposal does not require matters as much as what it does. The agencies drew a line between customers who interact directly with stablecoin issuers and individuals who acquire or transfer stablecoins through secondary markets. Wallet-to-wallet transfers, exchange trading, and other secondary-market activity would not automatically create customer identification obligations for issuers.

Regulators noted that treating every stablecoin holder or blockchain transaction as a direct customer relationship would be hard to implement and could undermine how stablecoin networks operate in practice. The approach applies traditional financial safeguards to stablecoin issuance while letting stablecoins circulate across public blockchain networks.

The proposal is open for public comment. No timeline has been set for final adoption.