§5902 Issuance and Treatment of Payment Stablecoins

Summary

Only authorized issuers may create payment stablecoins for people in the United States. Starting July 18, 2028, digital-asset businesses cannot offer or sell a payment stablecoin to someone in the U.S. unless the coin comes from a permitted payment stablecoin issuer. Foreign issuers may not be offered in the U.S. unless they can and will follow lawful orders and any reciprocal arrangements under section 5916. The Treasury Secretary must write rules to carry out these limits and to define terms. The Secretary can allow very small, limited exceptions (including in emergencies) and must tell the Senate and House committee leaders why, which can include a classified note. The rule applies when a coin is offered or sold to a person in the U.S., and breaking the main issuance ban can bring a fine up to $1,000,000 per violation, up to 5 years in prison, or both; regulators can refer violations to the Attorney General. Coins not issued by a permitted issuer cannot be treated as cash or cash equivalents for accounting, used as cash margin or collateral for certain trading and clearing firms, or used as a settlement asset for wholesale bank payments. The law does not cover direct transfers between two people acting for themselves, transfers between an individual’s U.S. and foreign accounts offered by the same parent company, or transactions using a personal software or hardware wallet.