Treasury Rule Sets Path for State Oversight of Stablecoin Issuers Under $10B—But Only With Federal Sign-Off

The U.S. Treasury Department has issued an interim final rule laying out the certification process required under the GENIUS Act, a key step in defining how stablecoin issuers can be supervised in the U.S. Under the framework, a state-qualified payment stablecoin issuer with no more than $10 billion in consolidated outstanding issuance may opt into state regulation—provided the state's supervisory regime is deemed substantially similar to the federal framework. The $10 billion threshold is emerging as a central dividing line for regulation in the U.S. stablecoin market. States must secure federal approval before overseeing issuers. A state cannot simply implement its own rules and begin supervising stablecoin companies. Instead, the state's regulator must file a certification with the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee, including a detailed explanation of how the state's laws, regulations, and enforceable guidance meet federal standards. The committee is chaired by the Treasury secretary and includes representatives from the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. Initial approval requires a unanimous determination that the state framework meets or exceeds GENIUS Act standards. States must also submit annual recertifications. The rule reinforces a broader direction of travel in U.S. stablecoin policy: pushing issuers toward bank-style supervision and compliance expectations. The $10 billion cap also introduces distinct regulatory tracks based on issuer size. Smaller issuers may be able to remain under an approved state regime, while larger businesses will ultimately be expected to move away from a state-only pathway. Treasury's rule explicitly requires state frameworks to include procedures for transitioning issuers to federal oversight. As a result, regulatory scale could become part of a stablecoin firm's growth strategy. Approaching $10 billion in outstanding tokens would force issuers to plan not only for reserves, distribution, and payments operations, but also for a potentially different supervisory regime. Coinpaper's explainer on stablecoin reserves underscores why scale matters: once issuers reach multi-billion-dollar levels, reserve management, redemption liquidity, and custody become more systemically important.