On July 7, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed a package of three “banking modernization” bills (SB 16, SB 18, and SB 19) into law, addressing digital assets, money transmission licensing, and payment stablecoins.

SB 16, the Delaware Banking Modernization Act of 2026, amends the state banking code to recognize digital assets and virtual currency, modernizes bank governance by permitting flexible board-of-directors sizing, allows the state bank commissioner to tailor chartering applications based on risk, clarifies that “personal property” under bank powers includes digital assets, and facilitates the merger or conversion of out-of-state trust companies into Delaware state trust companies.

SB 18, the Delaware Money Transmission and Virtual Currency Modernization Act, repeals the existing money-transmission chapter in the Delaware Code and enacts a new licensing, supervisory, and consumer-protection regime governing money transmission and virtual currency activity. The law standardizes definitions — including money transmission, stored value, virtual currency, and authorized delegate — establishes licensing requirements, surety bond and net-worth standards, permissible investments for customer-protection purposes, and exemptions for federally insured depository institutions, government entities, securities broker-dealers, and agents of payees, among others.

Finally, SB 19, the Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act, establishes a state regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers designed to be substantially similar to the federal GENIUS Act. The law requires permitted payment stablecoin issuers to maintain reserve assets on at least a one-to-one basis by fair value — limited to U.S. currency, Treasury bills with maturities of 93 days or less, certain repurchase agreements, and registered government money market funds — and prohibits rehypothecation of reserves except in limited circumstances.

Issuers must redeem outstanding payment stablecoins within two business days, maintain minimum capital of not less than $5 million for de novo issuers, publish monthly reserve reports examined by a registered public accounting firm, and comply with BSA/AML program requirements. The law also creates a voluntary registration pathway for digital asset service providers, establishes a transition process for state-qualified issuers whose outstanding issuance value exceeds $10 billion, preempts inconsistent local ordinances, and grants payment stablecoin holders priority over all other claims against an issuer in insolvency.

All three bills took effect immediately upon signing. SB 16’s chartering provision, SB 18, and SB 19 are each to be implemented the earlier of one year from enactment or publication by the state bank commissioner in the Register of Regulations that final implementing regulations have been promulgated.