OCC Lets Crypto Firms Keep Paying Stablecoin Rewards

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure The OCC’s new GENIUS Act rules let exchanges like Coinbase and Robinhood keep paying interest-like stablecoin rewards, despite warnings from banks about deposit flight. TLDR Federal regulators have confirmed that crypto exchanges can keep paying interest-like rewards on stablecoin balances. Under the OCC’s new GENIUS Act rules, stablecoin issuers like Circle still cannot pay interest to holders directly. Exchanges such as Coinbase and Robinhood can pass on earnings from the reserves backing the coins, handled on a case-by-case basis. Banking groups and consumer advocates have criticized the decision, warning of deposit flight and a lack of consumer protections. Crypto companies can keep paying interest-like rewards to customers, according to federal bank regulators. The ruling arrives despite warnings from banks that such programs could pull trillions of dollars out of the banking system. The decision is part of the rollout of the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law last year to set rules for stablecoin issuers. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published the new ...