OCC Issues Final GENIUS Act Rule: Rewards Allowed, Nothing Guaranteed

The OCC finalized its main GENIUS Act rule covering stablecoin issuance, reserves, redemption, custody and supervision. The regulator dropped a proposed presumption that certain third-party rewards arrangements are illegal. Rewards programs already in operation receive no safe harbor, no cure period and no list of approved structures. Temporary waivers can keep issuers operating during licensing, but they do not suspend reserve or redemption rules. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday finalized its first comprehensive rule under the GENIUS Act, and the provision exchanges care about most is one the agency loosened rather than tightened.