GENIUS Act and OCC stablecoin rule take effect

On January 18, 2027, the GENIUS Act and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) finalized rule implementing it take effect. The rule keeps the ban on stablecoin issuers paying interest to holders. It applies to payment stablecoins generally and does not name specific coins.

What is happening

The OCC finalized its GENIUS Act rule on October 21, 2026. Both the rule and the act itself become effective on January 18, 2027, the date this regulatory deadline is confirmed for.

The final rule keeps the prohibition on stablecoin issuers paying interest to holders. The OCC had proposed a presumption against yield paid through affiliates and third parties. In place of that presumption, the final rule has the agency review such arrangements case by case.

The distinction between issuers and distributors matters here. Issuers cannot pay holders interest, but they can pay the businesses that distribute their coins, and those businesses can pass rewards on to users. How much reserve income can reach end users through these channels will now depend on the OCC's case-by-case judgments. The OCC has also not yet said when it will open stablecoin applications, which is one of the open questions to follow.

Why it matters

For holders, the rule sets the boundary between stablecoins and yield-bearing products. A payment stablecoin cannot pay interest directly to its holder, while a tokenized bank deposit can, as SoFi's recently launched 4.4% SoFi Earn token shows. The case-by-case approach leaves some room for rewards arranged through wallets, exchanges and protocols, but the outcome is not predetermined.

For traders and market participants, the practical question is how much yield distributors and platforms will be allowed to pass on, and how far that can close the gap with bank-issued deposit products. Banks and companies that own customer relationships are competing for stablecoin balances, and the OCC's treatment of affiliate and third-party arrangements will influence how that competition develops. Watch for how the agency applies its review once the rule is in force, and for the opening of the application process.

Key details

• Date: January 18, 2027
• Project: OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
• Coins: None specified; applies to payment stablecoins generally
• Category: Regulatory Deadline
• Status: Confirmed
• Source: The Defiant, Converge newsletter (https://thedefiant.io/newsletter/converge/sofi-pays-44-on-a-tokenized-deposit)