Treasury Opens 60-Day Comment Window on GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rule

Only payment stablecoin issuers with no more than 10 billion dollars outstanding can remain under state supervision, and only if their state’s rules meet a new federal “substantially similar” test. The U.S. Treasury announced the notice of proposed rulemaking in an April 1 press release inviting comment, and the April 3 publication in the Federal Register, 91 FR 16844, started a 60-day clock that runs through June 2, 2026.

$10B issuance cap defines who can rely on state oversight

Treasury’s draft standard confirms a clear ceiling: state-qualified payment stablecoin issuers with consolidated total outstanding issuance of not more than 10,000,000,000 dollars may opt for state regulation if their state regime is deemed “substantially similar.” That threshold draws a bright operational line around which firms could use the state-level pathway contemplated by the GENIUS Act. The cap appears in the NPRM text that accompanies Treasury’s proposal. NPRM PDF.

Because the standard hinges on consolidated issuance, not just a single token or affiliate, the 10 billion dollar figure functions as a gating criterion for corporate groups as well as standalone issuers. The proposal does not list which firms meet or fail this test, and it does not attempt to pre-clear any state’s framework.

Treasury’s test for “substantially similar” state regimes

The NPRM would set broad-based principles to judge whether a state’s oversight is sufficiently aligned with the federal baseline under the GENIUS Act. Treasury is not prescribing a uniform state rulebook; it is proposing a principles-based evaluation that regulators can apply to different state laws and supervisory programs.

By framing the review around principles, Treasury leaves room for states to meet the federal bar through different statutory or supervisory mechanisms. But the proposal makes clear that eligibility for state oversight is inseparable from this similarity finding. Without it, the state pathway would not be available to an issuer even if it is under the 10 billion dollar cap.

Comment clock: April 3 Federal Register notice sets June 2 deadline

Treasury’s April 1 announcement invited public input and said comments are due within 60 days of Federal Register publication. The proposal appeared in the Register on April 3, 2026, which starts the countdown and places the deadline on June 2, 2026. Press release; Federal Register.

• April 1, 2026: Treasury press release announces the NPRM and solicits comment.
• April 3, 2026: Federal Register publication, 91 FR 16844, opens the window.
• June 2, 2026: Comment deadline based on the 60-day notice period.

Stakeholders now have a fixed runway to weigh in on how the similarity test should function in practice and how Treasury should measure consolidated issuance for issuers seeking the state route.

Position in the GENIUS Act rulemaking sequence

Independent coverage later confirmed Treasury’s proposal and situated it among other GENIUS Act rulemakings. In July, reporting noted that the state-similarity NPRM remained proposed alongside related agency efforts, with regulators continuing to solicit feedback on multiple rules rather than finalizing them by midyear. The Block.

The June 2, 2026 deadline fixes the near-term milestone. Until Treasury finalizes this rule, whether any particular state regime clears the “substantially similar” bar, and which sub-10 billion dollar issuers can rely on state oversight, will remain unresolved.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.