OCC drops proposed affiliate rewards presumption, but stablecoin yield ban stays

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) dropped a proposed presumption against certain stablecoin rewards routed through affiliates or related third parties in its Oct. 21 final GENIUS Act rule. The rule retains the prohibition on issuers paying holders interest or yield solely for holding, using or retaining a payment stablecoin, with older rewards programs facing the same scrutiny as newer ones.The rule takes effect on Jan. 18, 2027. It covers permitted and foreign payment stablecoin issuers within the OCC’s jurisdiction and certain custody activities by OCC-supervised entities. Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould, posting as @USComptroller on X, said the agency had delivered the final rule ahead of schedule.For exchange-run rewards, CryptoSlate’s reading is that removing the proposed test leaves the legality of individual arrangements unsettled. The change follows CryptoSlate’s earlier coverage of exchange stablecoin rewards.CryptoSlate separately examined the rule’s reserve changes and banks’ deposit-flight concerns.How the OCC will assess rewardsThe proposal would have presumed that certain linked arrangements amounted to prohibited issuer yield: an issuer would pay inte...