DLT Stablecoin

State of play.

• Florida's stablecoin licensing regime is now operational. HB 175 took effect October 1, 2026 — the first state-level stablecoin licensing framework to go live, with OFR approval required for any issuer conducting business in Florida and a $10 billion threshold triggering mandatory transition to federal oversight .
• Delaware has enacted a parallel modernization package covering state-chartered bank digital asset custody, money transmission, and a dedicated payment stablecoin licensing regime requiring 1:1 reserves, two-business-day redemption, and monthly audited reserve reports — effective immediately, with implementing regulations to follow within 18 months .
• The OCC has drawn a bright preemption line via Interpretive Letter 1192: nationally chartered trust banks conducting digital asset activities — including stablecoin issuance — are exempt from state money transmitter licensing, with exclusive OCC visitorial authority and no BitLicense or California DFAL exposure .
• A 140-member consortium including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase has announced Open USD (OUSD), a consortium-governed stablecoin returning reserve yield to partners rather than a single issuer — a structural challenge to Circle's enterprise base and a market-structure development that will pressure regulatory expectations around issuer concentration .
• FinCEN and four banking agencies have proposed bank-equivalent CIP obligations for permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, building on the April 2026 AML/CFT NPRM and completing the BSA compliance stack for the sector .
• For counsel advising stablecoin issuers or fintech clients, the practical baseline has shifted from "when will rules exist" to "which licensing pathway — Florida OFR, Delaware Bank Commissioner, OCC national trust charter, or federal PPSI — best fits the client's scale and distribution footprint, and how do the CIP and AML stacks differ across each."

Where things stand.

• The GENIUS Act is the statutory anchor. Enacted July 2025, it requires all payment stablecoins to be issued only by federally approved PPSIs, fully backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars or liquid assets, with two-business-day redemption rights and a January 2027 full compliance deadline .
• Multi-agency rulemaking has produced a layered federal compliance stack. OCC issued its framework March 2; FDIC approved its NPRM April 7 scoped to IDI subsidiaries with 1:1 reserves, 40% single-custodian cap, and monthly audited reports; FinCEN and OFAC jointly proposed AML/CFT and sanctions rules April 8 classifying PPSIs as BSA financial institutions; FinCEN and four banking agencies have now proposed a separate CIP rule completing the identity-verification layer .
• FDIC and OCC proposals diverge on material points. The FDIC retains discretion on capital failure consequences where the OCC mandates liquidation; the agencies also diverge on reserve diversification requirements, remediation plans, affiliate transactions, and control notices .
• The state supervision pathway now has operational examples. Treasury's "substantially similar" framework defines the sub-$10B state election pathway; Florida and Delaware have both enacted regimes designed to qualify, making the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee's certification decisions the next critical variable .
• OCC IL 1192 creates a federal preemption path that bypasses state regimes entirely for nationally chartered trust banks — a structurally distinct option from the state election pathway, available only to federally chartered institutions .
• The FinCEN/OFAC AML rule imposes five core compliance elements — senior management commitment, risk-based sanctions assessments, internal controls with technical capabilities to block or freeze transactions, independent testing, and annual training — plus SAR filing at a $5,000 threshold, CTR submission, Travel Rule compliance, and smart-contract-level freeze/burn controls .
• FASB is advancing stablecoin disclosure guidance under ASC Topic 230, clarifying when stablecoins qualify as cash equivalents and requiring companies with significant stablecoin positions to disclose holdings separately at fair value .
• International deployment is accelerating. Hong Kong's HKMA issued its first two stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial; UBS, PostFinance, and other Swiss banks have launched a CHF stablecoin sandbox .

Latest developments.

• Florida HB 175 took effect October 1, 2026 — OFR licensing required for all issuers conducting business in Florida; SB 1568 authorizes DFS to accept designated stablecoins for state fee payments; $10 billion threshold triggers mandatory federal transition .
• Delaware enacted a three-bill digital asset modernization package on July 6, 2026: SB 16 (bank digital asset custody), SB 18 (money transmission modernization for virtual currency), and SB 19 (payment stablecoin licensing with 1:1 reserves and two-business-day redemption) — effective immediately, with State Bank Commissioner rulemaking to follow .
• Open Standard announced Open USD (OUSD) on June 30, 2026 — a 140-member consortium-governed stablecoin backed by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Coinbase, Google, and Shopify, returning reserve yield to partners; Circle stock fell 15-16% on the announcement .
• OCC Interpretive Letter 1192 issued June 9, 2026 — uninsured national trust banks conducting digital asset activities (including stablecoin issuance) are preempted from state money transmitter licensing; exclusive OCC visitorial authority confirmed; state regimes including NY BitLicense and California DFAL do not apply to nationally chartered institutions .
• FinCEN and four banking agencies proposed a CIP rule for PPSIs under the GENIUS Act — mandating written risk-based programs, identity verification, recordkeeping, government-list screening, and limited reliance on other regulated institutions; completes the BSA compliance stack following the April 2026 AML/CFT NPRM .

Active questions and open splits.

• Which licensing pathway governs a given issuer is now a genuine multi-option question. Florida OFR, Delaware Bank Commissioner, OCC national trust charter (with full state preemption), and federal PPSI status each carry different reserve, capital, AML, and CIP obligations — and the interaction between state certification under the GENIUS Act's "substantially similar" standard and OCC preemption for nationally chartered entities is unresolved .
• Whether Florida and Delaware regimes will be certified as "substantially similar." The Stablecoin Certification Review Committee has not yet certified any state regime; both states designed their frameworks to mirror the GENIUS Act, but certification criteria remain subject to comment and no precedent exists .
• OCC preemption scope will face state challenge. IL 1192 excludes state-chartered banks and non-bank entities entirely — states whose licensing regimes are displaced (New York, California) may pursue legislative or regulatory responses to narrow the doctrine, and the line between preempted and non-preempted activities for hybrid-structure entities is untested .
• OUSD consortium governance raises novel regulatory classification questions. A 140-member consortium-governed token where partners mint and redeem at zero fees and receive reserve yield does not fit cleanly into the single-issuer PPSI model — whether OUSD requires each partner to be licensed, whether Open Standard as the governing entity is the PPSI, and how AML/CIP obligations attach across the consortium are unresolved .
• Inter-agency reserve and capital divergence creates compliance design uncertainty. The FDIC and OCC proposals diverge on reserve diversification caps, remediation plans, affiliate transaction limits, and capital failure consequences — final rules may not harmonize before the January 2027 compliance deadline .
• Smart-contract freeze and burn obligations raise unresolved custody and control questions. The FinCEN/OFAC rule requires technical controls to freeze, reject, or burn tokens pursuant to lawful orders — the legal characterization of that control and liability for erroneous execution remain unsettled, and the CIP rule's "reliance on other regulated institutions" carve-out does not resolve the secondary-market problem .
• International regulatory divergence creates cross-border compliance friction. Hong Kong's bank-led licensing model and Switzerland's sandbox approach differ structurally from the U.S. PPSI framework; OUSD's planned global deployment will test whether any mutual recognition mechanism emerges or whether issuers must maintain parallel compliance programs in each jurisdiction .

What to watch.

• The Stablecoin Certification Review Committee's first certification decisions — Florida and Delaware are the obvious candidates, and the first certification will set the template for the sub-$10B state election pathway and determine whether state-licensed issuers can operate nationally without federal PPSI status.
• Whether states displaced by OCC IL 1192 — particularly New York and California — pursue legislative or regulatory responses to narrow the preemption doctrine or create parallel requirements for non-nationally-chartered entities.
• OUSD's launch on Solana and the regulatory response — whether FinCEN, OCC, or state regulators issue guidance on how consortium-governed stablecoins fit the PPSI framework and where AML/CIP obligations attach.
• Final rules from OCC and FDIC implementing the GENIUS Act — whether the inter-agency divergences on reserve diversification and capital failure consequences are resolved before the January 2027 compliance deadline.
• Delaware State Bank Commissioner rulemaking under the 18-month implementing-regulation window — the scope and timing of those regulations will determine whether Delaware licensing becomes a competitive advantage for fintech clients seeking a single-state base for national operations.
• Whether additional states follow Florida and Delaware with their own stablecoin licensing frameworks, and whether those regimes are designed to qualify for GENIUS Act certification or to operate independently.