As it seeks to implement the Genius Act, the Treasury Department should not allow states to greatly expand the scope of services offered by payment stablecoin issuers beyond what is spelled out in the law, the American Bankers Association said today.
The Genius Act allows a state pathway as long as those regulatory regimes are substantially similar to the federal framework. To review state-level regulations, the bill established the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee, or SCRC, which is comprised of the Treasury Secretary, the chair of the Federal Reserve Board (or the vice chair for supervision, if so delegated), and the chair of the FDIC.
The Genius Act limits issuers to a narrow set of core activities, but it gives the SCRC the ability to certify state regimes that allow certain issuers to offer additional activities. In a letter to Treasury, ABA cautioned against widening the scope of permissible activities too much, as that is “not the optimal interpretation of the statute.”
“If a state’s permitted activities are broader than those explicitly set forth in statute under [the Genius Act], the SCRC must, as a matter of law, deny such certification until the state’s regime actually meets or exceeds the requirements,” ABA said.
In addition, ABA reiterated its call for the Treasury to clarify the deadline for states to submit their regulatory regimes for review.
