Episode summary
Is the Genius Act the Regulatory Shift You've Been Waiting For? w/ Jonathan Gould Ash Bennington
Summary
The OCC has issued its final rule implementing its portion of the GENIUS Act, setting up January 18 as the date when applications for payment stablecoin issuers can begin. The guest framed the rule as part of a broader push to onshore innovation, create a federal framework for payment stablecoins, and modernize U.S. financial infrastructure under President Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent.
The rule emphasizes reserve quality, redemption liquidity, and a supervisory framework designed to make stablecoins actually stable. The guest said Congress listed eligible reserve assets in statute, while the OCC added detail aimed at managing liquidity risk so issuers can meet redemption requests. He also said the agency will use reporting forms and an analogue to bank-style ratings to monitor issuers after launch.
A major unresolved area is yield versus rewards. The guest said the final rule avoids drawing blanket lines on third-party reward arrangements and instead tracks the statutory language, because the OCC wants to see actual applications and business models before deciding where evasion begins. He argued that stablecoins can speed cross-border payments, support dollar dominance, and improve transparency and auditability, making them a tool of both banking modernization and U.S. geopolitical strategy.
Key takeaways
- The guest said the OCC will start accepting payment stablecoin issuer applications on January 18, when the GENIUS Act goes into effect.
- The final rule centers on reserve assets and liquidity risk, with redemption readiness treated as a core definition of a stablecoin.
- The guest said the OCC will use ongoing supervision, weekly and monthly reporting, and an issuer rating system to monitor stability after launch.
- On yield and rewards, the guest said the OCC did not hardwire blanket prohibitions on third-party arrangements and will judge cases as applications come in.
- The guest argued payment stablecoins can speed cross-border payments, reinforce U.S. dollar dominance, and create demand for Treasury securities.
Notable quotes
“That sets us up so that on January 18th, when the law goes into effect under the statute, we will be able to start accepting applications”
“the reserve requirements are are one of the f kind of core foundations of the regulation and it goes to what it means to be a stable coin”
“this is about onshoring innovation. This is about 21st century and America leading the world in this area”
How the episode opens
I'm Ash Bennington on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with Jonathan Gould, controller of the currency. Welcome. Thank you.
Major news today uh from OC, the shop that you run, uh rulemaking around the Genius Act. This has been a significant piece of rulemaking that lots of people in the industry have been waiting for. Tell us about the news this morning.
So um about a actually over a year ago when I it was actually my first week when I started President Trump signed the Genius Act into law and I had the opportunity and privilege to attend the signing ceremony for that kind of monumental event and that is about bringing uh innovation back to this country on shoring it and in particular creating a federal framework around payment stable coins. So today, this morning actually, our team at the OC, which has been working on this for these last 15 or so months, released the final rule implementing the Genius Act, or at least our part under the rule. There's still a piece around Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-moneyaundering that we're doing together with the main Treasury Department, but we got that out today.
That sets us up so that on January 18th, when the law goes into effect under the statute, we will be able to start accepting applications for payment stable coin issuers. I want to talk about the details in just a second, but you've been very passionate about modernization, about technology, about innovation in this space. Tell us what this means for the United States today.
So, as as President Trump and Treasury Secretary Besson have articulated better than I ever could, this is about onshoring innovation. This is about 21st century and America leading the world in this area, which is very important, digital assets.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- genius act final rule
- stablecoin regulation
- payment stablecoin reserves
- redemption liquidity
- cross-border payments
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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