WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is racing to finalize its stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act, with Comptroller Jonathan Gould saying the agency plans to meet a statutory deadline in January. Gould made the remarks at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, acknowledging the OCC had already missed an earlier July target.
"We are moving rapidly," Gould said, according to remarks at the event, without offering a more specific timeline for when the final rule might drop.
Missed July, Targeting January
The January deadline is set by the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin framework that cleared Congress and was signed into law last year. The OCC had originally aimed to finish its implementing rules by July, but that date came and went without a final rule. Gould's comments mark the first time the agency has publicly committed to the later statutory date.
The gap between the two deadlines is more than a scheduling hiccup. It means banks and stablecoin issuers have been operating without final clarity on capital requirements, reserve management, and reporting obligations. The industry has been waiting on these rules to structure compliance teams and product roadmaps.
A Wyoming Stage
Gould chose the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium to make the announcement, a venue long associated with crypto-friendly policy. Wyoming has been a pioneer in state-level digital asset law, and the choice of venue signals the OCC is keeping its lines open to the industry's more bullish regulators.
The agency has been under pressure from both sides: crypto firms want rules that don't choke off innovation, while consumer advocates want strict reserve and disclosure standards. The GENIUS Act itself was a compromise, and the OCC's implementing rule is where those tensions get resolved in practice.
Why the Deadline Matters
The January date isn't just a box to check. It's a hard statutory limit, which means the OCC can't push it off again without triggering a new round of congressional scrutiny. If the agency misses this one, it would need to explain itself to lawmakers who wrote the deadline into law.
For now, the clock is running. The OCC has roughly five months to turn its proposed rule into a final one, and Gould's tone suggests the agency wants to get this done. Whether the final text matches industry expectations, or lands with surprises, is still an open question.
The next concrete step is the OCC publishing its final rule, which would set the effective date for compliance. Until then, stablecoin issuers are left watching the calendar.
