tl;dr
The US House of Representatives introduced a revised version of the STABLE Act, aiming to regulate payment stablecoins, introduce compliance mechanisms, expand oversight powers, and clarify key definitions governing dollar-backed digital assets. The updated bill includes provisions for monthly reser...
The US House of Representatives recently introduced a revised version of the STABLE Act, with the aim of regulating payment stablecoins, introducing compliance mechanisms, expanding oversight powers, and clarifying key definitions governing dollar-backed digital assets. The updated bill includes provisions for monthly reserve attestations, certification requirements, and detailed procedures for reviewing and approving stablecoin issuers. It mandates regulators to initiate rulemaking within 180 days of enactment and provides express protection for issuers using public, decentralized networks. Additionally, the bill imposes strict reserve standards on stablecoin issuers, prohibits yield payments to token holders, and includes provisions to protect consumers.
The revision signals bipartisan consensus and increased responsiveness to the needs of developers and institutions in the fintech and traditional banking sectors. The legislation aims to create a federal framework for payment stablecoin issuance and delineates qualified issuers into federally supervised institutions, nonbank entities approved by the Comptroller, and state-approved entities operating under certified regimes.
The updated bill introduces substantive changes compared to the initial February draft, explicitly excluding various financial products from the definition of “payment stablecoin.” The new draft also mandates monthly reserve attestations verified by registered public accounting firms, requires certifications by chief executive and financial officers, and imposes decision deadlines for federal regulators with formal appeal rights for applicants.
A key addition is the mandate for regulators to initiate rulemaking within 180 days of enactment to define application requirements and streamline approval for well-capitalized entities. The bill provides express protection for issuers using public, decentralized networks and consolidates its treatment of decentralized and non-payment stablecoins into a single study provision, reflecting a growing bipartisan consensus in Congress to formalize stablecoin regulation and adapt financial policy to blockchain-native payment systems. The House Financial Services Committee is expected to take up the bill for markup in the coming days, providing a platform for committee members to study viewpoints and discuss amendments.