Treasury Proposes Rules Defining Who Can Legally Sell Stablecoins in US

Bessent said the regulations would provide businesses with regulatory certainty while helping "cement the role of the U.S. dollar,” and welcomed public input.

“Treasury welcomes input from stakeholders as we work to provide the regulatory certainty businesses need to innovate and grow in America, cement the role of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and keep America the crypto capital of the world,” Bessent wrote.

Violations of these rules could include directly soliciting U.S. buyers, advertising a stablecoin as available to them, agreeing to sell after an unsolicited inquiry, or helping buyers bypass location restrictions such as IP checks.

Public comments on the proposal are due by October 19, 2026, 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The news comes as federal agencies continue to write the rules for implementing the GENIUS Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025 to establish a federal framework for stablecoins in the U.S.

In February, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed rules governing stablecoin issuance and oversight. The FDIC followed in April with proposed requirements for reserves, redemptions, capital, and risk management. That same month, the Treasury proposed anti-money laundering and sanctions rules requiring issuers to report suspicious activity and maintain the ability to block or freeze transactions.

Those proposed compliance rules have faced pushback from the crypto industry. In June, Paradigm and the Hyperliquid Policy Center warned that making issuers responsible for stablecoins after they enter secondary markets could drive them away from decentralized finance.