Crypto

The Fed Just Wrote the First Draft of Who Gets to Mint a Dollar, and the Application Belongs to the Bank

By Omar aka Crypt0 · Sep 25, 2026

The Federal Reserve published two proposed rulemakings on Thursday that sketch the first real shape of stablecoin licensing under the GENIUS Act. The bigger package is a 60 page application notice, Docket R 1900, that lays out how a state member bank or a subsidiary of one would apply for approval to issue payment stablecoins. The second, RIN 7100 AH30, proposes capital requirements for state member banks and holding companies. Both are open for public comment, so this is a draft regime, but the architecture of American stablecoin law is now visible.

The central design choice is the applicant. Only a state member bank, or a subsidiary of one, files under this procedure. A technology company that supplies wallets or software applies through its banking partner or a bank charter, and an uninsured state member bank follows a different procedure entirely. The GENIUS Act permits three domestic issuer paths, Fed supervised, OCC supervised, and state qualified, and this proposal covers the Fed lane. Foreign issuers face a separate determination process for whether their home regime counts as comparable. The dollar's digital future, in the Fed's telling, runs through supervised banks.

The timeline is brisk. Once the Fed deems an application complete, it proposes to decide within 120 days, a clear shot clock that gives applicants planning certainty. The package also proposes a 5 million dollar initial capital floor for permitted issuers, plus ongoing capital tied to a supervisory model that grows with the issuer's scale. Reserves get strict treatment. Issuers must hold high quality liquid assets against outstanding coins, and the Fed proposes a 2 percent capital charge on deposits held at banks operating outside federal deposit insurance, a direct incentive to keep reserves inside the insured banking system.

The market structure implications are large. A 5 million dollar floor plus ongoing capital requirements keeps the field professional, while the 120 day clock keeps it contestable. Banks gain a new product line with a clear federal path. Fintechs gain a defined route to partnership instead of years of legal fog. The proposal effectively says the stablecoin business is banking, and banking has a front door again.

The crypto native read is optimistic. Clear federal licensing turns the stablecoin from a regulatory gray zone into a supervised financial product, which is exactly what pension funds and corporate treasuries need to see before allocating. Every compliant dollar token issued under this framework strengthens the dollar's position in global digital commerce. The comment period is the industry's chance to shape the final rule, and the builders who engage now help write the law they will live under.

For dollar holders and builders alike, the direction is encouraging. Supervised issuance brings dollar tokens deeper into the mainstream financial system, where they can serve payroll, remittances, and settlement at internet speed. The GENIUS Act gave the industry a law, and the Fed is now giving it an application form. The builders who file early help set the standard everyone else follows.

Sources

• crypto.news on The Fed has drafted stablecoin rules
• CoinCentral on Federal Reserve proposes GENIUS Act rules

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