Stablecoin regulation breaks the ice: Issuance of less than $100 billion is required to apply first

According to Woofun AI, the US Treasury Department established a key policy breakthrough on September 30, allowing states to reserve the way to obtain authorization from the stablecoin regulatory system by submitting preliminary certifications when the relevant regulations are not yet fully perfected.

This temporary final rule, led by the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee, aims to provide a clear form and review process for federal agencies to review each state's stablecoin regulatory plan to ensure that even if states plan to adopt further legislative or regulatory measures, conditional or incomplete certifications can meet the initial submission time requirements.

Regarding the mechanism and conditions of the application process, the rules clearly stipulate that no certification application will be accepted until the relevant information collection process is approved by the Simplified Documents Act, and the US Treasury will separately notify the specific processing time. This flexibility is critical for eligible state-level payment stablecoin issuers with a total issuance size of less than $10 billion. If state regulators can prove that their systems meet the “material similarity” standards set by the US Treasury, and the Board unanimously determines that they meet or exceed the standards and requirements set out in section 4 (a) of the GENIUS Act, these issuers may choose to be regulated at the state level.

Notably, according to data compiled by Woofun AI, CryptoSlate pointed out in July that it is extremely difficult to evaluate the equal effectiveness of each state's regulatory system in a context where the federal government, the US Treasury, and the US Monetary Authority (OCC.US) rules are undecided. To this end, the relevant state must provide an unconditional declaration signed by an authorized representative, a detailed explanation that the regulatory system meets the similarity standards, and legal documents and information deemed necessary by the Commission. Such conditional certification applications can be amended at any time, and neither will formal review be initiated, nor will the 30-day authorization or denial period set by the Commission begin; the timing will only begin once submitted in accordance with the prescribed procedures. Another independent proposal by the US Treasury on the “material similarity” standard aims to clearly compare guidelines between state and federal regulatory systems, but the procedural rules issued in September did not finalize these guidelines.

The key time points are closely linked to the logic of the bill's entry into force. According to the GENIUS Act, which is expected to take effect on January 18, 2027, the rule sets the initial certification deadline as January 18, 2028. The law stipulates that the actual application submission deadline should be one year after the bill enters into force, but the bill may enter into force earlier. Section 20 of the bill stipulates the earlier of the two dates: either 18 months after enactment of the bill or 120 days after the federal payment stablecoin regulator issues the relevant implementing rules. The deadline for feedback on these temporary rules is November 30.

This arrangement leaves time for states to complete legislative or regulatory work after meeting initial time limits, but it will not automatically approve each state's regulatory system or issue licenses to specific stablecoin issuers.

Although the interim final rule provides a form and review process and provides some initial submission flexibility, it still retains strict authorization requirements. The independent proposal was aimed at clarifying comparative guidelines, and procedural rules have yet to finalize these guidelines. Following the establishment of the GENIUS Act framework, this is another key refinement in the US at the implementation level of stablecoin regulation, marking a transition from principled legislation to operational review.