The Federal Reserve Board has requested public comment on a proposal that would require certain payment stablecoin issuers to establish and maintain effective customer identification programs.
The proposal, issued jointly with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, would introduce requirements comparable to those already applied to banks and credit unions.
What the rule would require
Under the proposed rule, permitted payment stablecoin issuers would need to collect and verify identifying information from customers before opening accounts, including name, date of birth, address, and a government-issued identification number.
The rule stems from the GENIUS Act, which directs that stablecoin issuers be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act.
The Federal Register notice stated:
“This rulemaking implements the GENIUS Act’s directives to treat permitted payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and to require issuers to maintain an effective customer identification program.”
Scope and limitations
The customer identification requirements would apply only to primary market activity — direct relationships between issuers and customers — not to secondary market transactions conducted through smart contracts.
The agencies noted in the proposal:
“Imposing an obligation where any payment stablecoin transfer could result in a customer and account relationship with a PPSI would essentially impose on PPSIs a global obligation to collect and verify identifying information of individual users.”
The rule would affect an estimated 50 permitted payment stablecoin issuers, with total compliance costs averaging roughly $2.3 million per year across the industry.
What this means for bitcoin holders
The proposal does not target bitcoin directly, but it signals how aggressively regulators plan to extend traditional banking compliance frameworks into the digital asset space.
The agencies acknowledged the challenge:
“We are proposing regulatory text that requires a PPSI to tailor its CIP to that PPSI’s size and type of business.”
Comments on the proposal are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
