GENIUS Act
The 2025 US law that creates a federal framework for payment stablecoins, setting who may issue them and requiring one-to-one reserves.
What the GENIUS Act is
The GENIUS Act, short for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, is the US federal law that governs payment stablecoins. It limits issuance to permitted issuers, sets reserve and disclosure rules, and makes clear that payment stablecoins are not deposits or securities.
How it works
The law sets three main paths to issue a payment stablecoin, each with its own regulator. Issuers must hold reserves, publish their makeup monthly and redeem stablecoins at par. They are also treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act, so KYC and sanctions rules apply.
- 01 · APPLY Issuers apply to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) or a bank or state regulator.
- 02 · RESERVE It backs each stablecoin 1:1 with cash, deposits, short-term Treasuries and other listed assets.
- 03 · REPORT It publishes monthly reserve reports, examined by an accounting firm and certified by executives.
| Issuer path | Approved by | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Bank subsidiary | The parent's federal regulator | Subsidiaries of insured banks and credit unions |
| Federal qualified issuer | OCC | Nonbanks, uninsured national banks and federal branches |
| State qualified issuer | State regulator | Issuers with up to $10 billion outstanding |
A state issuer above $10 billion outstanding generally must move to federal oversight within 360 days or pause new issuance, unless it gets a waiver.
Who it affects
- Companies that issue payment stablecoins to people in the US
- Banks and credit unions that issue stablecoins through a subsidiary
- Exchanges and custodial platforms that offer payment stablecoins, with limits from July 2028
- Custodians that hold stablecoin reserves, collateral or issuing keys for others
Cross River connects the stablecoins it supports with fiat rails, so businesses can send and receive funds in real time through a regulated bank. Stablecoins are not deposits and are not FDIC insured. See stablecoin payments at Cross River.