US Treasury Seeks Public Input on Stablecoin Regulations—GENIUS Act Implementation Looms

The US Treasury is shaking the money tree—this time for feedback on how to regulate stablecoins under the impending GENIUS Act. Brace for bureaucratic jargon meets crypto chaos.

Why it matters: Stablecoins are the duct tape holding crypto’s wild west together. Now Uncle Sam wants to slap on some rules—because nothing says 'innovation' like a 200-page compliance manual.

The fine print: No concrete proposals yet, just the usual 'we’re listening' theater. Meanwhile, Tether’s lawyers are already warming up their printers.

Bottom line: When regulators play catch-up with crypto, bet on two outcomes: toothless policies for the big players, and enough red tape to strangle everyone else. Bonus irony? The 'GENIUS' acronym probably took 12 committees to approve.

US Treasury Requests Stablecoin Feedback

Since President Trump signed the GENIUS Act last month, the crypto community has been waiting to see what this landmark piece of legislation would accomplish. It’s raised new questions and proved bullish for markets, but these are side effects.

To help answer the big questions, the US Treasury is soliciting comments on implementing stablecoin reform:

“[Treasury] offers the opportunity for interested individuals and organizations to provide feedback on innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies that regulated financial institutions use, or could potentially use, to detect illicit activity involving digital assets,” the statement read.

In other words, the US Treasury is looking for community feedback regarding the stablecoin sector, specifically on the topic of enforcement tools. Its aim is to maintain safeguards that can prevent financial risks without causing undue hardship for financial institutions.

Resolving the Grace Period

Although the law was signed a month ago, it hasn’t taken effect yet. Stablecoin issuers will have a reprieve of either 18 months or 120 days after the US Treasury and Federal Reserve develop their own policy to carry it out.

In other words, this is the first step to achieving the shorter implementation timeline. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent welcomed this initiative over social media, calling attention to President Trump’s plan to use stablecoins to promote dollar dominance:

Implementing the GENIUS Act is essential to securing American leadership in digital assets.

Stablecoins will expand dollar access for billions across the globe and lead to a surge in demand for U.S. Treasuries, which back stablecoins.

It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved:… https://t.co/p5nRQpBfnw

Thorny Concerns for Issuers

In particular, the law mandates that stablecoin issuers hold US Treasury bonds, so the agency has a key role in practical implementation. Issuers like Tether and Circle have been stockpiling Treasuries for the past few months, but there are still a few unanswered questions.

Essentially, the GENIUS Act should mandate that Tether undertake regular third-party audits to operate in the United States, but that hasn’t happened, and it hasn’t shut down. The grace period is keeping everything in limbo for now.

Compared to Q1 2025, the stablecoin issuer has substantially downgraded its US Treasury investments. This seems a little odd, considering that the GENIUS Act became law.

The firm has reorganized some of its reserve holdings, which could facilitate mandatory inspections, but there doesn’t seem to be any urgency yet.

All that is to say, this situation won’t last forever. As the Treasury receives feedback and suggests minor implementation tweaks, the new stablecoin paradigm gets closer and closer.