STABLE Act of 2025

The bill would create a licensing and oversight regime for payment stablecoins — digital assets pegged to a fixed monetary value and designed for use in payments or settlement. Only "permitted payment stablecoin issuers" could issue such instruments in the United States. Permitted issuers must be either a subsidiary of an insured depository institution, a federally approved nonbank entity overseen by the Comptroller of the Currency, or a state-licensed entity operating under a regime the Treasury has certified as meeting federal standards. Every permitted issuer would be required to hold at least one dollar of liquid reserves — U.S. currency, short-term Treasury securities, or qualifying money market funds — for every stablecoin outstanding, publicly disclose its redemption policy, and publish monthly reserve reports certified by its CEO and CFO and reviewed by an independent auditor. Permitted issuers could not pay interest or yield to stablecoin holders.

The bill would place a two-year moratorium on issuing new algorithmic stablecoins (those whose value is backed by a related digital asset rather than hard reserves), require stablecoin issuers to comply with Bank Secrecy Act anti-money-laundering obligations, and amend five federal securities laws to establish that regulated payment stablecoins are not securities. Custodians holding stablecoins or reserve assets on behalf of customers would have to segregate those assets from the custodian's own property, and stablecoin holders would have priority claims against reserves in any insolvency.

Technology companies, fintech firms, banks, and credit unions that seek to issue or custody payment stablecoins; consumers and businesses using stablecoins for payments or remittances; existing stablecoin issuers that must obtain approval before custodial intermediaries may continue offering their tokens after 18 months; state financial regulators seeking Treasury certification of their oversight regimes; and federal banking regulators assigned new joint supervisory and rulemaking duties.

The bill would determine the legal and operational landscape for a large and rapidly growing stablecoin market. Issuers without approval would face civil penalties of up to $100,000 per day, and senior officers who falsify monthly reserve certifications could face up to 20 years in prison. The securities-law exclusions would resolve longstanding uncertainty over whether stablecoin transactions trigger SEC oversight, affecting how the entire digital-asset industry is structured.

Federal banking regulators — the Fed, OCC, FDIC, and NCUA — would jointly issue capital, liquidity, cybersecurity, and reserve-management regulations within 180 days of enactment. The OCC would process nonbank issuer applications within a 120-day window, with applications deemed approved if the agency fails to act. FinCEN would issue tailored Bank Secrecy Act rules. States may self-certify their regimes to Treasury; rejections can be appealed to the D.C. Circuit. Permitted issuers submit monthly reserve reports independently audited by a registered public accounting firm and certified by their top two officers. Congress would receive a rulemaking status report within six months and two Treasury policy studies — on non-payment stablecoins and on stablecoin economic impact — within one year.