Stablecoins focus for Emerging Issues Committee

Digital assets and stablecoin legislation were the focus for members of America’s Credit Unions’ Emerging Issues Committee during their meeting Wednesday.  

Members discussed the NCUA’s second proposed rule to implement the GENIUS Act, where the CLARITY Act stands in Congress, and cybersecurity and AI capabilities for fraudulent activity.

On GENIUS Act implementation, the discussion covered the substantive requirements that would apply to a permitted payment stablecoin issuer (PSSI) and govern stablecoin-related activities of credit unions subject to the NCUA’s jurisdiction. The discussion included questions about how the act could impact operations. Members provided thoughts and concerns on the proposed rule’s assessments of minimum capital requirements and more.

Members also heard an update on the CLARITY Act’s status in Congress. Major news reporting suggests this is a key priority for the White House, with a hard deadline of July 4 for passage.  

America’s Credit Unions has worked with Senate Banking Committee staff to provide parity for credit unions in the bill and continues work to ensure proper technical fixes to achieve the best result. America’s Credit Unions has also cautioned against adopting language that permits yield-bearing stablecoins to compete directly with deposits.

Lastly, the group touched on recent cybersecurity and AI developments, namely the recently released Anthropic Mythos model. The group discussed measures like industry education and what role the NCUA should play in terms of assisting credit unions in preparation for the rollout of advanced AI models.  

The group also addressed upcoming comment letters due in June to the Federal Reserve, FinCEN, and Treasury. 

The next meeting for the Emerging Issues Committee is July 29.