Several U.S. agencies, including the Federal Reserve, Treasury, OCC and FDIC, have issued a proposed rule requiring stablecoin issuers to verify customer identities, implementing the GENIUS Act. The rule mandates compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, including procedures to verify identity, maintain records of identifying information, and check customer names against government lists of known or suspected terrorists. The agencies have opened a 60-day public comment period, and this notice of proposed rulemaking follows an earlier request for comments in September that garnered 450 responses. The Treasury's FinCEN has also pursued a related rule for anti-money laundering provisions. Fed Governor Michael Barr expressed concern that the framework insufficiently addresses illicit finance risks in secondary market transactions, stating he will closely watch whether ID provisions should extend to that activity. The stablecoin market, dominated by Tether and Circle but seeing increased competition from traditional firms, awaits final rules as the implementation process continues.

Key facts

• Fed, Treasury, OCC, FDIC propose stablecoin customer ID rules under GENIUS Act.
• Issuers must verify identity, maintain records, check against terrorist lists.
• 60-day public comment period opened; previous request got 450 comments.
• Fed Governor Barr worried about illicit finance via secondary market transactions.
• Tether and Circle dominate but traditional firms enter stablecoin market.