The Fed proposes its stablecoin rulebook under the GENIUS Act
The Federal Reserve Board issued two proposals covering payment stablecoin issuers it would supervise, setting out reserve composition and capital requirements and opening them for public comment.
Assembled by Claude from 5 sources at 5 outlets · Thursday, September 24, 2026, Evening edition, 5:20 PM EDT · no human byline
What happened
The Federal Reserve Board requested public comment on two proposals establishing a regulatory framework for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act federalreserve.gov. Reuters reported the step plainly: the United States Federal Reserve has proposed new stablecoin rules reuters.com.
Forkast dated the release, reporting that on September 24, 2026 the Federal Reserve released two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers, and noted that the Treasury had acted in August forkast.news. Forth reported that the notices are part of the Board's broader effort to regulate stablecoins under the new legislation and that the Fed is seeking public input forth.news.
Why it matters to investors
The substance is in what backs the tokens and what sits behind the issuer. Reuters reported that the proposal covers Treasury bills, would impose capital requirements on issuers, and would outline which stablecoin-related activities are permitted reuters.com. Bloomberg described reserves held in Treasury bills and other high-quality, liquid assets, and said the proposal would also establish further requirements bloomberg.com.
That is a direct link between a crypto instrument and the government bond market. A rulebook that pushes reserves into short-dated Treasury paper makes stablecoin growth a source of bill demand, which is why the design of the reserve rule matters well beyond the issuers themselves.
The supervisory picture is also now complete. Forkast's framing is that the Fed is the last major agency to lay down stablecoin rules, and that doing so closes the supervisory gap and starts the clock forkast.news. Issuers have spent the period since the legislation passed operating against an incomplete rulebook; the comment period is where they will argue about the version that binds them.
What to watch
The first marker is the comment period itself. The Board has asked for public input on both proposals federalreserve.govforth.news, which is the formal channel through which banks, issuers and trade bodies will push back on the capital and reserve terms Reuters describes reuters.com.
The second is how the Fed's version lines up with what the Treasury put out in August forkast.news. Two agencies writing to the same statute can leave issuers with overlapping or inconsistent obligations, and the comment letters will say so if they do.
The third is the capital requirement's calibration reuters.com. Reserve composition determines what a token is worth in a stress; capital determines whether the issuer survives one. Bloomberg's account indicates the proposal reaches beyond reserves into a wider set of requirements bloomberg.com.
Sources
- forkast.news: The Fed Is the Last Major Agency to Lay Down Stablecoin Rules. That Closes the Supervisory Gap (2026-09-24)
- bloomberg.com: Fed Unveils More Stablecoin Plans As Regulators Embrace Crypto - Bloomberg (2026-09-24)
- reuters.com: US Federal Reserve proposes new stablecoin rules - Reuters (2026-09-24)
- forth.news: Fed Seeks Public Input on New Stablecoin Regulation Framework - Forth.News (2026-09-24)
- federalreserve.gov: Federal Reserve Board requests public comment on two proposals related to establishing a regulatory framework for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act (2026-09-24)