United States of America: Department of Treasury opened consultation on principles for determining whether state-level regulatory regime is similar to federal regulatory framework

On 3 April 2026, the Department of the Treasury opened a consultation on principles for assessing whether a state-level regulatory regime is similar to the federal regulatory framework, open until 2 June 2026. The principles implement section 4(c) of the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for the regulation of payment stablecoins. The proposal outlines principles for determining when a state-level regime may be considered similar to the federal framework, allowing state-qualified payment stablecoin issuers with outstanding issuances of no more than USD 10 billion to opt for state oversight instead of federal oversight. It indicates that states are required to implement certain provisions, including those related to reserve assets and anti-money laundering, in alignment with the federal framework, while retaining discretion in areas such as capital and liquidity standards, provided their regimes achieve outcomes that are at least equivalent to the federal framework. It further indicates that states are expected to provide regulators with supervisory and enforcement powers, establish licensing processes, and ensure that payment stablecoin holders have priority claims in insolvency proceedings.