Washington’s move from legislation to detailed rulemaking on payment stablecoins has drawn measured support from the IMF
The International Monetary Fund has urged US financial regulators to “remain attentive” as they establish dedicated rules relating to cryptoassets and stablecoins.
In its 2026 Article IV mission statement, IMF staff welcomed recent improvements in the “clarity of treatment” of stablecoins and other cryptoassets. It said recent regulatory advancements should serve as a “useful basis for future innovation in digital asset markets”.
“Work is underway to develop a regulatory and supervisory framework for such assets and this will need to remain attentive to a range of potential new risks – including to financial integrity– posed by the integration of these digital assets into the existing bank and nonbank financial system,” IMF staff said.
The IMF’s remarks arrive as the US moves from legislative design into regulatory implementation.
In July 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law, establishing a federal framework for payment stablecoins. Since then, primary regulators have begun issuing the detailed rules required to give effect to the statute.
On 25 February 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published a 376-page notice of proposed rulemaking covering reserve backing, redemption rights, capital calibration and registration requirements for domestic and foreign payment stablecoin issuers operating under its jurisdiction.
Under the proposal, payment stablecoins must be backed at least one-to-one with identifiable, highly liquid assets, and issuers must redeem at par value within two business days in most circumstances. Foreign issuers serving US customers would also be required to register with the OCC and maintain sufficient reserves at a US financial institution to meet domestic liquidity demands.
Other agencies are progressing in parallel. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration have each issued their own proposals, while the Federal Reserve has yet to publish a formal rule. The legislation takes effect on the earlier of 18 January 2027 or 120 days after all primary federal regulators finalise their implementing regulations.
Will the CLARITY Act ever pass?
Separately, negotiations over the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act have intensified. On 19 February, the White House took direct control of discussions between crypto firms, banking trade associations and policymakers, focusing in part on whether stablecoin issuers should be permitted to offer rewards tied to balances or transaction activity.
Draft legislative text circulated by the administration reportedly distinguishes between yield on idle balances and transaction-linked incentives, with enforcement authority potentially shared between the US SEC, the US Department of the Treasury, and the CFTC.
Against that backdrop, the IMF’s call for regulators to “remain attentive” aligns with an environment in which stablecoins are no longer operating in a regulatory vacuum. Instead, they are being incorporated into existing banking law, capital standards and supervisory frameworks.
The Fund’s reference to risks arising from integration into the “existing bank and nonbank financial system” mirrors the structure of the GENIUS Act itself, which places stablecoin issuance within a prudential perimeter and subjects foreign issuers to domestic registration and reserve requirements.
