On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) joined with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) to issue a proposed rule that implements provisions for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (“GENIUS Act”), a law that provides a framework for the federal regulation of payment stablecoins. The proposed rule is aimed at mitigating possible illicit finance risks involving stablecoins and encouraging innovation in the use of stablecoins by establishing anti-money laundering (“AML”) and sanctions compliance program requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (“PPSIs”). As a result, PPSIs would be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and be required to adopt and maintain effective sanctions compliance programs, after appropriate regulations are issued by the Treasury Department in accordance with the GENIUS Act. FinCEN and OFAC is accepting public comments on the proposal until June 9, 2026.
According to a Fact Sheet issued by FinCEN, the proposed rule includes the following requirements for PPSIs:
- the development and maintenance of an anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) program;
- the submission of reports on suspicious activity;
- policies, procedures, and the technical capability to block, freeze, and reject specific transactions that violate Federal or State laws, rules, or regulations;
- the technical capability to comply with the terms of any lawful order; and
- the implementation of an effective sanctions compliance program.
The Fact Sheet also provides an overview of AML/CFT program requirements for PPSIs that largely mirror the obligations that FinCEN recently imposed for 11 types of financial institutions, including requirements that the AML/CFT programs are written and approved by the PPSI’s board of directors or equivalent, are appropriately risk-based, and include independent program testing and employee training. PPSI’s would also be required, among other things, to create and retain certain records, meet certain information sharing obligations, and establish a due diligence program.
Department of Treasury Press Release | FinCEN Press Release | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | Fact Sheet