On May 6, the American Bankers Association (ABA), joined by nearly every state bankers association, sent the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), a follow‑on request for more time to comment on Treasury’s GENIUS Act “broad‑based principles” proposed rule for determining whether a state stablecoin regime is “substantially similar” to the federal framework (RIN 1505‑AC90).

As we discussed in our earlier post (found here) on the national trade associations’ first extension request, industry continues to argue that the key GENIUS Act proposals are tightly interdependent and should not be finalized, or even commented on, piecemeal.

In this latest letter, the trade associations ask the Treasury to extend the comment deadline on its “substantial similarity” Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issues its final GENIUS Act rule for OCC‑supervised issuers. The letter emphasizes that Treasury’s definition of the “federal regulatory framework” expressly incorporates OCC interpretations and regulations, that Treasury itself acknowledges it may need to revise its rule once the OCC finalizes its framework, and that state legislatures cannot realistically design durable “substantially similar” regimes while the OCC rule remains in flux.

The associations also ask the Treasury to clarify how the GENIUS Act’s one‑year deadline for states to submit an “initial certification” should be applied. They urge the Treasury either to confirm that states will not be penalized for submitting certifications after that point, or to permit a status report in lieu of a full certification at the one‑year mark, arguing that this would encourage “measure twice, cut once” legislative efforts rather than rushed, potentially non‑compliant state frameworks.

Our Take

This second extension request underscores how dependent the Treasury’s “substantial similarity” architecture is on the OCC’s ongoing GENIUS Act rulemaking, and highlights growing concern among banks and state regulators that they are being asked to build and certify state regimes against a moving federal target.