OCC calls on community banks to enter the stablecoin payments market
- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is urging community banks to enter the stablecoin market by seeking permission to issue dollar-pegged tokens under the GENIUS Act.
- Stablecoin issuers must comply with the OCC’s finalized regulations by Jan. 18, 2027, though existing issuers with substantially complete applications may seek temporary waivers.
- The push comes as banking groups warn that yield-bearing stablecoins could drain deposits and critics challenge the OCC’s approval of national trust-bank charters for crypto companies.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Monday called on community banks to enter the stablecoin market, including by applying for permission to issue their own dollar-pegged tokens.
The regulator said it wants community banks to help shape the future of payments and encouraged them to apply directly or through subsidiaries to become permitted stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.
“These opportunities complement the OCC’s Community Bank Comeback initiatives to right-size regulation and tailor supervision so community banks can grow, compete, and continue serving their communities,” said the OCC, the independent bureau of the Treasury Department that regulates and supervises national banks, federal savings associations and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks.
The invitation comes as U.S. banking groups have pressed lawmakers to restrict stablecoin yields, concerned that interest-paying tokens could draw deposits away from traditional banks. The OCC is now trying to motivate smaller lenders to enter the same market, rather than leave stablecoin payments to large banks and crypto companies.
In a separate bulletin published Oct. 21, the OCC said stablecoin issuers must comply with its newly finalized GENIUS Act regulations starting Jan. 18, 2027, when federal approval requirements take effect.