Treasury sets a $10 billion line for state-supervised stablecoin issuers

Treasury has drawn the line that decides which stablecoin issuers can stay with a state regulator. An interim final rule published September 30 explains how states can have their stablecoin regimes certified under the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin law.

The threshold is $10 billion. An issuer with that much or less in payment stablecoins outstanding can remain under state supervision, provided its state's regime has been certified as substantially similar to the federal one. A Stablecoin Certification Review Committee makes that decision.

For smaller issuers this preserves a real choice, since a state regulator they already know remains an option. For larger or fast-growing issuers the line works as a ceiling. FinTech Weekly reports that an issuer that grows past $10 billion has 360 days to move to the federal framework or obtain a waiver.

The rule also puts pressure on the states. A regime that is not certified offers issuers nothing, so state regulators that want to keep this business will need to show their standards match Washington's.

Comments are open until November 30, and states have a year to file their first certifications. Which states apply early, and whether any are turned down, will show how strict "substantially similar" turns out to be.