[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2392 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2392
To provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2025
Mr. Steil (for himself, Mr. Hill of Arkansas, Mr. Torres of New York,
Mr. Emmer, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Meuser, Mrs. Kim, Mr. Moore of North
Carolina, Mr. Downing, Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Gottheimer, and Mr.
Liccardo) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stablecoin Transparency and
Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act of 2025'' or the
``STABLE Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate federal banking agency.--The term
``appropriate Federal banking agency'' has the meaning given
that term under section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
(12 U.S.C. 1813).
(2) Bank secrecy act.--The term ``Bank Secrecy Act''
means--
(A) section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
(12 U.S.C. 1829b);
(B) chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91-508 (12
U.S.C. 1951 et seq.); and
(C) subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United
States Code.
(3) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System.
(4) Comptroller.--The term ``Comptroller'' means the
Comptroller of the Currency.
(5) Corporation.--The term ``Corporation'' means the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
(6) Credit union terms.--The terms ``Federal credit
union'', ``insured credit union'', and ``State credit union''
have the meanings given those terms, respectively, in section
101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752).
(7) Digital asset.--The term ``digital asset'' means any
digital representation of value which is recorded on a
cryptographically-secured distributed ledger.
(8) Distributed ledger.--The term ``distributed ledger''
means technology where data is shared across a network that
creates a public digital ledger of verified transactions or
information among network participants and the data is linked
using cryptography to maintain the integrity of the public
digital ledger and execute other functions.
(9) Federal qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuer.--
The term ``Federal qualified nonbank payment stablecoin
issuer'' means a subsidiary of a nonbank entity approved by the
primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator, pursuant to
section 5, to issue payment stablecoins.
(10) Institution-affiliated party.--With respect to a
permitted payment stablecoin issuer, the term ``institution-
affiliated party'' means any director, officer, employee, or
person in control of, or agent for, the permitted payment
stablecoin issuer.
(11) Insured depository institution.--The term ``insured
depository institution'' means--
(A) an insured depository institution, as defined
in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1813); and
(B) an insured credit union.
(12) Monetary value.--The term ``monetary value''--
(A) means--
(i) a national currency;
(ii) a deposit (as defined in section 3 of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C.
1813)) that is denominated in a national
currency; or
(iii) an account (as defined in section 101
of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C.
1752)); and
(B) does not include any agricultural or other
physical commodity (as defined in section 1a of the
Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a).
(13) National currency.--The term ``national currency''
means a Federal Reserve note, (as the term is used in the first
undesignated paragraph of section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act
(12 U.S.C. 411)), money standing to the credit of an account
with a Federal reserve bank, money issued by a central bank,
and money issued by an intergovernmental organization pursuant
to an agreement by one or more governments.
(14) Nonbank entity.--The term ``nonbank entity'' means a
person that is not an insured depository institution or
subsidiary of an insured depository institution.
(15) Payment stablecoin.--The term ``payment stablecoin''
means a digital asset--
(A) that is or is designed to be used as a means of
payment or settlement;
(B) that is denominated in a national currency;
(C) the issuer of which--
(i) is obligated to convert, redeem, or
repurchase for a fixed amount of monetary
value; or
(ii) represents that the digital asset will
maintain or creates the reasonable expectation
that the digital asset will maintain a stable
value relative to the value of a fixed amount
of monetary value; and
(D) that is not--
(i) a national currency;
(ii) a security issued by--
(I) an investment company
registered under section 8(a) of the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (15
U.S.C. 80a-8(a)); or
(II) a person that would be an
investment company under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 but for paragraphs
(1) and (7) of section 3(c) of that Act
(15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c));
(iii) a deposit (as defined under section 3
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C.
1813)), regardless of the technology used to
record such deposit; or
(iv) an account (as defined in section 101
of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C.
1752)), regardless of the technology used to
record such account.
(16) Permitted payment stablecoin issuer.--The term
``permitted payment stablecoin issuer'' means--
(A) a subsidiary of an insured depository
institution that has been approved to issue payment
stablecoins under section 5;
(B) a Federal qualified nonbank payment stablecoin
issuer; or
(C) a State qualified payment stablecoin issuer.
(17) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual,
partnership, company, corporation, association (incorporated or
unincorporated), trust, estate, cooperative organization, or
other entity.
(18) Primary federal payment stablecoin regulator.--
(A) In general.--The term ``primary Federal payment
stablecoin regulator'' means--
(i) with respect to an insured depository
institution (other than an insured credit
union) or a subsidiary of an insured depository
institution (other than an insured credit
union), the appropriate Federal banking agency
of such insured depository institution;
(ii) with respect to an insured credit
union or a subsidiary of an insured credit
union, the National Credit Union
Administration;
(iii) with respect to a Federal qualified
nonbank payment stablecoin issuer and any
nonbank entity that seeks to have a subsidiary
approved as a Federal qualified nonbank payment
stablecoin issuer, the Comptroller; and
(iv) with respect to any entity chartered
by the Comptroller, the Comptroller.
(B) Primary federal payment stablecoin
regulators.--The term ``primary Federal payment
stablecoin regulators'' means the Comptroller, the
Board, the Corporation, and the National Credit Union
Administration.
(19) Registered public accounting firm.--The term
``registered public accounting firm'' has the meaning given
that term under section 2 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15
U.S.C. 7201).
(20) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the
United States.
(21) State qualified payment stablecoin issuer.--The term
``State qualified payment stablecoin issuer'' means an entity
that--
(A) is approved to issue payment stablecoins by a
State payment stablecoin regulator;
(B) issues a payment stablecoin in compliance with
the laws and regulations of a State regulatory regime
certified under section 4(b); and
(C) is not--
(i) chartered by the Comptroller;
(ii) a Federal credit union; or
(iii) a subsidiary of a State credit union
that--
(I) has at least a partial
ownership interest or loan from a
Federal credit union; or
(II) has at least a partial
ownership interest or loan from a State
credit union that is organized in a
different State than such subsidiary.
(22) State payment stablecoin regulator.--The term ``State
payment stablecoin regulator'' means--
(A) a State agency that has primary regulatory and
supervisory authority in such State over entities that
issue payment stablecoins; and
(B) with respect to a State qualified payment
stablecoin issuer that is a subsidiary of a State-
chartered depository institution (as defined in section
3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C.
1813)) or a State credit union, the State agency that
has primary regulatory and supervisory authority over
entities that issue payment stablecoins in the State in
which such State-chartered depository institution or
State credit union is chartered.
(23) Subsidiary of an insured credit union.--With respect
to an insured credit union, the term ``subsidiary of an insured
credit union'' means--
(A) an organization providing services to the
insured credit union that are associated with the
routine operations of credit unions, as described under
section 107(7)(I) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12
U.S.C. 1757(7)(I));
(B) a credit union service organization, as such
term is used under part 712 of title 12, Code of
Federal Regulations, with respect to which the insured
credit union has an ownership interest or to which the
insured credit union has extended a loan; and
(C) any subsidiary of an insured credit union that
is a State credit union.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON WHO MAY ISSUE A PAYMENT STABLECOIN.
(a) Limitation on Issuers.--It shall be unlawful for any person
other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer to issue a payment
stablecoin in the United States.
(b) Limitation on Offering or Selling.--
(1) In general.--After the end of the 2-year period
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, it shall be
unlawful for any custodial intermediary to offer or sell a
payment stablecoin in the United States unless the payment
stablecoin was issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer.
(2) Exceptions for comparable payment stablecoin regimes.--
(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) and subsection (a)
shall not apply to the offer or sale of a payment
stablecoin if--
(i) the payment stablecoin was issued by a
foreign payment stablecoin issuer;
(ii) the foreign payment stablecoin issuer
is subject to regulation by a foreign payment
stablecoin regulator of a nation with a payment
stablecoin regulatory regime that the Secretary
of the Treasury determines under subparagraph
(B) is comparable to the requirements under
this Act; and
(iii) the foreign payment stablecoin issuer
consents to be subject to reporting and
examination requirements, as determined by--
(I) the Comptroller, if the foreign
payment stablecoin issuer is a nonbank;
or
(II) the Board, if the foreign
payment stablecoin issuer is a banking
institution or subsidiary thereof.
(B) Determination.--With respect to a foreign
nation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall determine,
upon request of a foreign payment stablecoin issuer, a
foreign payment stablecoin regulator, or on the
Secretary's own initiative, and in consultation with
the Federal payment stablecoin regulators, whether the
payment stablecoin regulatory regime of such nation is
comparable to the requirements under this Act.
(C) Public notice.--The Secretary shall make the
list of nations for which a determination has been made
under subparagraph (B) available to the public, and
keep such list current.
(D) Rescinding determinations.--
(i) Secretarial action.--The Secretary may,
in consultation with the primary Federal
payment stablecoin regulators, rescind a
determination made under subparagraph (B) with
respect to a foreign nation, if the Secretary
determines that the regulatory regime of such
nation is no longer comparable to the
requirements under this Act.
(ii) Safeharbors.--If the Secretary
rescinds a determination pursuant to clause
(i), a custodial intermediary shall not be in
violation of this subsection by reason of the
offer or sale of a payment stablecoin issued by
such nation's foreign payment stablecoin issuer
until 90 days after the determination is
rescinded.
(3) Penalty.--Any person who violates this subsection shall
be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100,000 for
each day during which such violation continues.
(c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 12 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such rules as may be
required to carry out this section.
(d) Rule of Construction.--This section does not apply to
transactions in digital assets for an individual's own lawful purposes
by means of a software or hardware wallet that facilitates such
individual's own custody of digital assets.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUING PAYMENT STABLECOINS.
(a) Standards for the Issuance of Payment Stablecoins.--
(1) In general.--Each permitted payment stablecoin issuer
shall--
(A) maintain reserves backing the issuer's
outstanding payment stablecoins on an at least 1 to 1
basis, with reserves comprising--
(i) United States currency (including
Federal reserve notes) or money standing to the
credit of an account with a Federal reserve
bank;
(ii) funds held as demand deposits (or
other deposits that may be withdrawn upon
request at any time) at insured depository
institutions (including foreign branches and
agencies of insured depository institutions) or
approved foreign depository institutions (as
defined in paragraph (5)(v)) or share drafts
(or other deposits that may be withdrawn upon
request at any time) at insured credit unions,
subject to limitations established by the
Corporation and the National Credit Union
Administration, respectively, to address safety
and soundness risks of such insured depository
institutions;
(iii) Treasury bills, notes, or bonds--
(I) with a remaining maturity of 93
days or less; or
(II) issued with a maturity of 93
days or less;
(iv) repurchase agreements, wherein