The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is urging community banks to apply to issue dollar-pegged tokens under the GENIUS Act. The push comes as banking groups warn about yield-bearing tokens and critics challenge the regulator's crypto charter approvals.
On Monday, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) called on community banks to enter the stablecoin market, including by applying for permission to issue their own dollar-pegged tokens.
According to the regulator, it wants community banks to help shape the future of payments. It encouraged them to apply directly or through subsidiaries to become permitted stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.
Compliance deadline set for January 2027
In a separate bulletin published Oct. 21, the OCC said stablecoin issuers must comply with its newly finalized GENIUS Act regulations starting Jan. 18, 2027, when federal approval requirements take effect.
Existing issuers that submit substantially complete applications by that date may request temporary waivers to keep operating while regulators review their applications. The OCC said it generally expects to grant such waivers where appropriate.
However, the regulator has yet to begin accepting applications. It said the process will open after the required federal paperwork approval is completed.
Banks and critics push back
The invitation arrives as U.S. banking groups have pressed lawmakers to restrict stablecoin yields, concerned that interest-paying tokens could draw deposits away from traditional banks. The OCC is now trying to motivate smaller lenders to enter the same market, rather than leave stablecoin payments to large banks and crypto companies.
Meanwhile, the OCC has come under fire. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued it, accusing it of exceeding its legal authority in granting national trust-bank status to crypto firms. An OCC spokesperson told CoinDesk that those firms do not operate under the same business model or intend to offer the same services as typical community banks.
Senator Elizabeth Warren separately asked the OCC to explain its chartering of nine crypto-focused institutions, which she argued do not meet federal regulations and constitute a risk to the financial system.
Source: CoinDesk
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