On August 19, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould discussed the OCC’s digital asset innovation efforts and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act’s implementation timeline. Gould stated that the OCC will finalize its GENIUS Act rule by November and will be ready to process applications for payment stablecoin issuer charters ahead of the law’s January 18, 2027, effective date. He characterized digital assets as part of the “business of banking,” noting that the OCC has received 40 applications for new bank charters since January 2025, with over half (23 of 40) involving digital asset activity in their business plans — an eightfold increase from the prior administration, according to Gould. The comptroller added that it is “becoming ordinary course” for applicants to integrate payment stablecoins into the business plans presented to the OCC.

The comptroller also noted that the OCC has been designing the supervisory framework for payment stablecoin issuers in parallel with the regulatory framework and stated that the agency has been “playing catchup” after the prior administration’s approach of “risk elimination with respect to crypto.” He also stated that the OCC is willing to work with banks interested in digital asset activities to ensure they engage in those activities in a safe and sound manner. He described the OCC’s GENIUS Act role as analogous to its original 19^th-century mission of ensuring the quality of reserve assets backing national bank-issued notes.