The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has finally set a new target. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould used the stage at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole to announce that the final rules implementing the GENIUS Act will launch in November 2026.
This announcement comes following the missed statutory deadline on July 18, 2026. The GENIUS Act, signed by Donald Trump on July 18, 2025, serves as the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States. When the legal deadline expired last month, not a single final rule was ready from the OCC, the Fed, the FDIC, or the NCUA. In fact, there are still 10 rulemaking proposals hanging on the desks of various federal agencies.
The OCC had actually gotten a head start earlier this year. They released a 376-page proposal in February 2026, opening a 60-day comment period that officially closed on May 1. This proposal contains comprehensive guidelines on issuance, reserve management, redemption, supervision, and the wind-down mechanisms of issuers. These rules require issuers to hold eligible reserve assets and guarantee token redemption at par value.
Critiquing the Biden Era Approach
From Jackson Hole, Gould did not just throw out new calendar promises. He openly criticized the direction of the previous policy, describing the Biden administration’s efforts to eliminate risk from the banking system as a highly short-sighted move.
In contrast, he highlighted the shift in direction under his leadership. According to Gould, the volume of digital asset approval activities at the OCC is currently up eightfold compared to the Biden administration.
The Bureaucratic Wall of Three Agencies
The OCC’s target completion in November is not yet a guaranteed red carpet for crypto issuers. The payment stablecoin framework is scheduled to take effect on January 18, 2027, or 120 days after all major regulators approve their final rules - depending on which deadline is reached first.
Here is the bottleneck: completion from the OCC’s side alone in November does not automatically trigger the 120-day countdown. The transition period will only begin if the three other agencies - the Fed, FDIC, and NCUA - have also finalized the rules in their respective jurisdictions.
Although the path is still multi-layered, Gould estimates that the official registration process for stablecoin issuers could begin in 2027. Meanwhile, the supervisory framework expanded after the Treasury Department proposed additional rules on August 17, governing the distribution permits of foreign stablecoins to users in the United States.
Awaiting Regulatory Synchronization
The OCC’s optimistic stance proves that the stablecoin legal framework is not entirely at a standstill. Industry players now have schedule certainty from one major regulator, although the implementation certainty of the GENIUS Act still awaits the final approval of the Fed, FDIC, and NCUA. The greatest burden now is not just drafting the rules, but synchronizing the work calendars of the four state agencies before the end of the year.
As reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
