GENIUS Act: OCC Gives Stablecoin Rewards No Free Pass

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published a final GENIUS Act rule on October 21, the first federal banking regulator to do so; it takes effect January 18, 2027. The rule covers stablecoin subsidiaries of national banks and federal savings associations, nonbank federal qualified issuers, some state issuers, and foreign issuers. It removes a February proposal's presumption that issuer payments to affiliates or related third parties that reward holders violate the ban on issuer-paid yield, replacing it with case-by-case review in applications and supervision. It keeps the law's bar on yield paid solely for holding a stablecoin and allows existing issuers to seek operating waivers, though applications will not open until the Office of Management and Budget approves.