OCC's final GENIUS Act rule drops rewards presumption

The OCC has issued the first final rule implementing the GENIUS Act, setting the framework for dollar stablecoin issuance and custody in the U.S., including third-party relationships with the exchanges where their tokens trade. The final version drops the agency's proposed presumption against third-party stablecoin rewards, which banks warned would threaten deposits while the crypto industry called the outcome a win; the OCC says it will review rewards programs case-by-case with no clear rules yet as the rule takes effect January 18.

• Existing rewards programs get no safe harbor: the OCC will review them individually and warned it "will not presume" that programs predating the law comply; the word "solely" in the statute matters — rewards made "at least in part" for other reasons would fall outside the ban.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the rule "a clear, practical foundation for private-sector innovation."
• Bankers had lobbied heavily against issuer-paid stablecoin rewards, a fight that helped sink the later CLARITY Act in the Senate; platforms with prominent rewards programs include Coinbase, PayPal and Kraken.