OCC finalizes GENIUS Act rule as stablecoin supply holds at $301.5 billion
The federal stablecoin framework starts Jan. 18, 2027, while Tether and Circle hold 84.7% of a market near $301.5 billion, according to DefiLlama data.
- The OCC finalized its GENIUS Act stablecoin rule on Oct. 21, with the framework taking effect Jan. 18, 2027.
- Stablecoin market value stood at $301.5 billion on Oct. 22, with Tether's USDT at 60.6%, according to DefiLlama.
- Weekly reporting by OCC-supervised issuers is set to begin Jan. 25, 2027, subject to Office of Management and Budget approval.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized its GENIUS Act rule on Oct. 21, effective Jan. 18, 2027, as stablecoin market value ended the week of Oct. 16-22 at $301.5 billion, according to DefiLlama.
The OCC rule sets a Jan. 18, 2027 start for federal stablecoin issuers
According to the OCC's Oct. 21 release, the final rule covers permitted payment stablecoin issuers, foreign issuers and certain custody activities. It takes effect Jan. 18, 2027, the same day as the GENIUS Act.
Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said in the same release that the agency is providing "a clear, practical framework for payment stablecoin innovation."
The OCC proposed the rule on Feb. 25, 2026, seven months after the GENIUS Act became law on July 18, 2025, according to OCC Bulletin 2026-50. The final rule responds to comments received on that proposal.
The rule leaves anti-money-laundering and sanctions requirements to a separate rulemaking with the Treasury Department, the OCC said. The agency will announce separately when it begins accepting issuer applications and waiver requests.
OCC Bulletin 2026-52 sets Jan. 25, 2027 as the first weekly report date on form PS-01 and Mar. 31, 2027 as the first quarterly report date on form PS-02. Both depend on approval from the Office of Management and Budget.
The OCC declines to presume that existing rewards programs comply
The final rule drops the rebuttable presumptions in the proposal and gives pre-existing rewards programs no safe harbor, according to CoinDesk's report on the rule. The OCC will review programs case by case.
CoinDesk quoted the rule text as saying the OCC declines to presume that rewards programs that predated the law comply with it.
CoinDesk also reported that the OCC treats the statutory word "solely" as meaningful, so a reward paid partly for other reasons could fall outside the ban.
Supply ends the week at $301.5 billion, with Tether holding 60.6%
DefiLlama showed total stablecoin market value of $301.476 billion on Oct. 22. Stablecoin Beat showed $301.4 billion the same day, so the two trackers agree within $0.1 billion.
Tether's USDT held $182.7 billion, or 60.6% of the total (our calculation: 182.685 / 301.476). Circle's USDC held $72.6 billion, or 24.1%. Together the two issuers hold 84.7%, according to DefiLlama figures.
Ethena's USDe stood at $4.7 billion, Dai at $4.7 billion, World Liberty Financial's USD1 at $4.0 billion and PayPal USD at $2.9 billion on Oct. 22, according to DefiLlama. Each holds between 1.0% and 1.6% of the total (our calculation).
Allium's Q3 report put supply at about $305 billion on Sept. 30, up 0.4% since the start of 2026, according to CoinDesk's Oct. 18 report. The providers use different methods, so we compute no change between them.
Allium counts $482 billion of stablecoin payments in nine months
The same Allium report counted $482 billion of stablecoin payments in January-September 2026, up 45% from a year earlier, and more than 1 billion payments, up 71%, according to CoinDesk.
The report measures supply growth since January and payment growth year over year, so the two rates are not directly comparable.
Treasury's Sept. 30 rule draws a $10 billion line for state-regulated issuers
Treasury's Sept. 30 interim final rule sets procedures for judging whether state regimes match federal standards, according to Yahoo Finance. Issuers above $10 billion must join the federal framework within 360 days unless they win a waiver.
Tether at $182.7 billion and Circle at $72.6 billion both exceed that line on DefiLlama's figures, which places them outside the state route.
Four dated items run from the EU deadline to the first OCC reports
The OCC said it will announce in a separate release when applications open. The dated items so far:
- Jan. 8, 2027: the three-month limit in the European Securities and Markets Authority's Oct. 8 opinion ends for EU platforms holding stablecoins that do not meet MiCA, according to CoinDesk.
- Jan. 18, 2027: the OCC rule and the GENIUS Act take effect, according to the OCC.
- Jan. 25, 2027: first weekly report date for OCC-supervised issuers, subject to OMB approval.
- Mar. 31, 2027: first quarterly report date, subject to OMB approval.
The week in numbers
| Stablecoin | Market cap | Share | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| All stablecoins | $301.476 billion | 100% | DefiLlama |
| Tether (USDT) | $182.685 billion | 60.6% our calculation | DefiLlama |
| USD Coin (USDC) | $72.637 billion | 24.1% our calculation | DefiLlama |
| Ethena USDe | $4.656 billion | 1.5% our calculation | DefiLlama |
| Dai (DAI) | $4.744 billion | 1.6% our calculation | DefiLlama |
| PayPal USD (PYUSD) | $2.9 billion | 1.0% our calculation | DefiLlama |
As of Oct. 22, 2026, retrieved Oct. 23. Share is our calculation: each coin's market cap divided by the $301.476 billion total.
How we reported this: we opened the OCC pages, DefiLlama and Stablecoin Beat (retrieved Oct. 23), three CoinDesk reports and Yahoo Finance. Shares are our calculation from DefiLlama values. We do not know when the OCC will open applications.