INSIGHT

What the OCC’s Final GENIUS Act Rule Means for Payment Stablecoin Issuers 

Daniel Figueredo • November 6, 2026

Services: Blockchain & digital assets

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Payment stablecoins finally have a federal rulebook. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued the final rule to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, setting requirements for the issuance of payment stablecoins and certain related activities by entities under the OCC’s jurisdiction.  

For issuers, the GENIUS Act final rule, which takes effect Jan. 18, 2027, turns broad statutory principles into specific operating obligations: what reserves you can hold, how much liquidity you need on hand, how concentrated your portfolio can be, and how often you need to prove all of it to the public. Here is what you need to know.  

Who the Rule Applies To  

The rule applies to permitted payment stablecoin issuers within the OCC’s jurisdiction, including:  

• National banks and their subsidiaries  
• Federal savings associations and their subsidiaries  
• Federal branches of foreign banks and applicable subsidiaries  
• Federal-qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuers  
• OCC-supervised state-qualified payment stablecoin issuers  
• Certain foreign payment stablecoin issuers operating under the applicable federal framework  

The Core Reserve Requirement: 1:1 at All Times  

A permitted issuer must maintain reserve assets whose value equals or exceeds the value of its outstanding payment stablecoins at all times, not only at month-end. Those reserves must also be identifiable and segregated from the issuer’s other assets.  Meeting the 1:1 threshold on a calm day is only part of the obligation. Issuers must regularly stress test their reserve portfolios and demonstrate the ability to access and monetize reserves under both normal and stressed conditions.

Depending on your reserve portfolio, that may mean holding reserves above 100% as a liquidity or valuation buffer. The OCC does not prescribe a fixed buffer percentage, so the right cushion is a judgment you will need to make and support.  There is an important operational wrinkle as well. Excess reserves generally cannot simply be withdrawn. Before pulling them, you need appropriate due diligence confirming the withdrawal will not cause reserves to fall below outstanding issuance.  

What Counts as an Approved Reserve Asset  

The list of permissible reserve assets is narrow:  

Financial Statement Audit 

An issuer above the applicable $50 billion outstanding issuance threshold becomes subject to an additional annual digital asset financial statement audit regime. That entails an annual GAAP financial statement, audited under the applicable framework using PCAOB-type auditing standards by a PCAOB-registered accounting firm, along with public availability and submission to the OCC generally within 120 days following fiscal year-end. 

The OCC also has authority in connection with this audit regime to request information from the registered public accounting firm, including relevant working papers, policies and procedures relating to the required audit. 

Liquidity & Concentration Requirements  

Beyond 1:1 backing, the rule sets portfolio composition requirements designed to keep reserves both liquid and diversified.  

5% Immediate Liquidity  

At least 5% of reserve assets must consist of:  

• Demand deposits or deposits withdrawable at any time  
• Demand-payable share accounts  
• Balances at a Federal Reserve Bank  

40% Counterparty Concentration  

Generally, exposure to a single counterparty cannot exceed 40% of the reserve portfolio, subject to specified exceptions. The rule also includes a broader, principles-based risk management obligation covering concentration, credit, liquidity, interest rate, and price risk.

Redemptions Generally Must Be Completed Within Two Business Days 

Reserve liquidity is tied directly to the issuer’s redemption obligations. Under the final rule, an issuer’s timeframe for timely redemption generally may not exceed two business days after the redemption request and satisfaction of applicable conditions. If redemption requests exceed 10% of a brand’s outstanding issuance value within a 24-hour period, additional OCC notification requirements apply. 

Monthly Reserve Reporting & Independent Examination  

This is where the rule’s requirements for certified public accountants (CPAs) come into focus. Each month, the issuer must prepare a reserve composition report covering the preceding month by noon on the last day of that month. Among other information, the report includes:  

• Outstanding payment stablecoin issuance  
• Composition of reserves by category  
• Fair value and face value information  
• Reserve custody information and geography  
• Tenor and maturity information  
• Separate information for applicable brands and special purpose vehicles (SPVs)  

The report is posted publicly on the issuer’s website. The goal is transparency: anyone should be able to see how many stablecoins are outstanding, the value of qualifying reserves backing them, and how those reserves break down across cash, deposits, Treasuries, repurchase agreements, money market funds, and other permitted assets. 

The OCC’s final rule doesn’t require the AICPA stablecoin criteria or any specific attestation standard for the monthly reserve exam, as long as a registered public accounting firm performs it, and it meets the GENIUS Act’s statutory requirements. Issuers and their CPA firms can keep using AICPA-based frameworks, but the criteria will need to reflect the GENIUS Act and OCC requirements, including permitted reserve assets, how reserve asset value is calculated and the required monthly composition report format. 

Two Layers of Accountability  

Management certification alone is not sufficient. Instead, it builds in two layers:  

• Management prepares the reserve composition report, and the CEO and CFO certify it.  
• An independent registered public accounting firm performs an examination of the prior month-end reserve composition report, and its examination report is published alongside the issuer’s monthly report.  

The result is a recurring monthly external assurance engagement, separate from the issuer’s annual financial statement audit requirements. For issuers, that means building a close, reconciliation, and documentation process that can stand up to independent examination twelve times a year, not once.

“Transparency is fundamental to building trust in stablecoins and strengthening the credibility of the broader digital asset ecosystem,” said Daniel Figueredo, Partner and a Blockchain and Digital Assets Leader at BPM. “These rules provide issuers with a clear framework for demonstrating that their stablecoins are appropriately backed, while giving users and market participants greater visibility into the reserves supporting them. That level of transparency is an important step toward greater confidence in the crypto industry.” 

How BPM Can Help  

BPM’s Blockchain & Digital Assets Services work with major stablecoin issuers, performing reserve attestation and examination engagements. Whether you are preparing to issue under the new framework or refining an existing reserve reporting process, our team can help you build a reporting and controls environment ready for recurring independent examination. Contact us to start the conversation.