Treasury Drafts Bank-Style Vetting Rules for Stablecoin Issuers

The U.S. Treasury has floated due diligence requirements for payment stablecoin issuers, folding them into a licensing framework connected to the GENIUS Act. Under the plan, permitted issuers would have to examine their counterparties and stick to existing banking rules on due diligence. Third-party counterparties would be treated as licensed entities.

The framework covers both federal and state licensing, and the checks are modeled on the scrutiny applied to U.S. correspondent banks. Treasury says the goal is stronger accountability, security and financial stability across stablecoin operations — and a shorter distance between digital-asset firms and established banking standards.

The requirements land on permitted payment stablecoin issuers only, but they would be mandatory for those firms. The effective date won't be set until the proposal is finalized, tying the compliance timeline directly to that process. Issuers may need to rethink existing operations as they adapt.

The proposal also signals Washington's widening scrutiny of financial institutions with digital-asset exposure, with sanctions and security concerns in the spotlight. For now, the action is a proposal, not a rule — the counterparty review and licensing structure sit at its core.