Treasury Targets Stablecoin Issuers for Money Laundering Risks
Published Date: 6/24/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The government is setting new rules for companies that issue payment stablecoins to stop money laundering, terrorism funding, and illegal sanctions evasion. These rules affect stablecoin issuers under the OCC’s watch and require them to follow strict safety checks starting soon. Comments on these rules are open until July 24, 2026, so businesses should get ready to comply and share their thoughts!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.
OCC limits enforcement for good AML/CFT programs
The OCC would add a supervision and enforcement framework saying a permitted payment stablecoin issuer that has properly established an effective AML/CFT program generally would not face an OCC AML/CFT enforcement action or a significant AML/CFT supervisory action, except for significant or systemic failures. This framework defines terms like "AML/CFT enforcement action" and "significant AML/CFT supervisory action."
Consultation process will cost the OCC (staff time)
The proposed rule would require the OCC to provide the Director of FinCEN an opportunity to review planned AML/CFT enforcement actions or significant AML/CFT supervisory actions (with at least 30 days' advance notice unless shorter notice is necessary). The OCC estimates an upper bound annual coordination cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for this consultative process.
Stablecoin issuers must follow BSA and sanctions rules
If you operate a permitted payment stablecoin issuer subject to the OCC's jurisdiction, you must comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions regulations at 31 CFR chapter V and 31 CFR chapter X. The OCC says that following those FinCEN and OFAC regulations will satisfy the proposed Sec. 15.13(c) requirements; the OCC estimates the rule would affect about 29 permitted payment stablecoin issuers.
Permitted issuers may share OCC non-public info with FinCEN
The OCC would amend its disclosure rules to permit permitted payment stablecoin issuers to share OCC non-public supervisory information with the FinCEN Director when that information relates to an existing or potential AML/CFT enforcement action or significant AML/CFT supervisory action. The proposal describes two options for how that disclosure and use authorization would operate, including an Option 2 that would require contemporaneous disclosure of the same information to the OCC by the issuer.
OCC estimates no incremental cost to supervised issuers
The OCC states that because the OCC's AML/CFT and sanctions requirements largely reference FinCEN and OFAC requirements, it does not expect any net incremental costs for OCC-supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers (the OCC's incremental net impact estimate for OCC-supervised institutions is $0).
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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