Federal Reserve Unveils Stablecoin Rules on Reserves and Capital

The Federal Reserve is moving to set the ground rules for stablecoin issuers it oversees, proposing Thursday that they fully back their tokens with safe, liquid assets and hold capital against the risks of their operations.

The central bank opened two proposals for public comment as it builds out the regulatory framework required under the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law President Donald Trump signed in July 2025.

The first would require Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to hold reserves entirely in permissible assets such as short-term Treasury bills and other high-quality, liquid holdings. It would also establish standardized capital requirements to address credit and operational risks, set risk-management standards, and lay out rules for firms that safekeep the assets backing the tokens.

The second proposal would create a tailored application process for Board-supervised banks seeking to issue payment stablecoins, requiring them to submit a business plan and financial information, and would establish procedures for appeals, hearings and final decisions.

The comment period closes 60 days after the proposals are published in the Federal Register.

Stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens designed to hold a steady value by pegging to a reference asset, most commonly the U.S. dollar, with issuers backing them with reserves so each token can be redeemed at face value. They’ve become a core piece of crypto’s plumbing, used to move money between exchanges, settle trades, send cross-border payments, and park funds without converting back to traditional currency.

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The move adds the Fed’s piece to a multi-agency rollout of the GENIUS Act, which set the first federal framework for dollar-pegged tokens. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has been racing to finalize its own stablecoin rules by November ahead of a January statutory deadline, while the Treasury Department has separately proposed rules that would bar platforms from selling noncompliant stablecoins to U.S. customers.

The rulemaking arrives as stablecoins move deeper into the financial mainstream, with the Trump administration increasingly framing dollar-pegged tokens as a tool to extend the dollar’s global dominance.

Full-reserve backing and bank-grade oversight are central to that pitch, aimed at ensuring the tokens hold their peg and can be redeemed at face value.