BREAKING NEWS: FinCEN, OFAC Tackle GENIUS Act

U.S. officials proposed Wednesday to define "permitted payment stablecoin issuers," or PPSIs, as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act, and thereby subject them to anti-money laundering requirements tailored to their "size and complexity."

In a 303-page joint notice of proposed rulemaking, or NPRM, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control disclosed plans to implement the GENIUS Act, legislation enacted in July 2025, by formally requiring PPSIs to build AML programs and report potentially illicit transactions as stipulated in the BSA.

PPSIs would also have to ensure they have the technical capability necessary to comply with lawful orders, and to block, freeze or reject impermissible transactions.

"Both requirements would apply to PPSI’s primary and secondary market activity," OFAC and FinCEN explained in the NPRM. "FinCEN and OFAC will use the term 'secondary market' to describe payment stablecoin activity that does not directly involve the PPSI as a party to the transaction other than via a smart contract." 

Interested parties have 60 days to comment on the plan, which follows the Treasury Department's proposal on April 1 to let "broad-based principles" guide upcoming assessments of whether a state's regulations for issuers of stablecoins substantially mimic those of the federal government.

Moneylaundering.com may update this story as more information becomes available.

• Topics: Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism, Stablecoins, Crypto, Technology
• Source: U.S.: FinCEN, U.S.: OFAC
• Document Date: April 8, 2026