US codifies GENIUS Act, sets Bitcoin reserve ahead of 2027 rules

The US has codified the GENIUS Act and established a strategic Bitcoin reserve, CFTC Chair Mike Selig said, cementing federal crypto rules ahead of the stablecoin law's January 2027 effective date.

"Now we need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act," Trump told crypto and finance executives at the White House, calling the market-structure bill "very, very powerful structure legislation."

The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, requires the OCC, Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve to finalize implementing rules by Jan. 18, with the law taking effect in January 2027. The OCC released a 376-page proposal in February, and Comptroller Jonathan Gould said final rules would be out by November. The Clarity Act is expected to return to the Senate floor in September, where Republicans need roughly six Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold.

The codification gives stablecoin issuers a defined federal pathway, and the Bitcoin reserve reflects government endorsement of the asset — a combination prediction markets have priced as supportive of higher Bitcoin prices. The next milestone is the Senate vote on the Clarity Act in September, which would complete the SEC-CFTC split of authority and determine whether the US keeps its lead over jurisdictions such as the European Union's MiCA framework.

OCC Final Rules Due by November

The OCC's 376-page proposal, released in February, covers how national banks and federal thrifts may issue payment stablecoins, and Gould said the agency "will have a final rule out by November" as it weighs industry feedback. Regulators have until Jan. 18 to finalize rules before the law takes effect in January 2027, and Gould expects the agency to begin processing stablecoin issuer applications starting in 2027. The GENIUS Act also requires the Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve to publish their own implementing rules, leaving multiple agencies to coordinate on a single compliance standard.

Clarity Act Vote Looms in September

Trump's push for the Clarity Act comes as the SEC on Tuesday proposed rules that would exempt certain token offerings from securities regulations, potentially easing how crypto companies raise money. The market-structure bill, which would assign the SEC and CFTC distinct authority over digital assets, returns to the Senate floor in September after lawmakers left for recess without a procedural vote. Executives at Wednesday's meeting included Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi. Trump also said Selig is working to bring decentralized perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid into the US "in a fully compliant and legal fashion."

The regulatory clarity from the GENIUS Act and the Bitcoin reserve could draw institutional capital into US stablecoin markets and shift issuance away from offshore venues, while the Clarity Act would resolve years of SEC-CFTC jurisdictional disputes that have pushed some firms overseas. If the Senate fails to reach the 60-vote threshold in September, the US would retain a patchwork of agency rules rather than a single market-structure law, leaving the European Union's MiCA framework as the more complete regime for digital asset issuers.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.