OCC leaves crypto exchange stablecoin rewards in play

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized stablecoin rules on Oct. 21 that keep interest-like rewards offered by crypto exchanges in play while barring issuers from paying interest directly to coin holders, according to the Associated Press report. The distinction leaves platforms such as Coinbase and Robinhood able to offer rewards tied to stablecoins, subject to regulators’ review.

What do the rules allow exchanges to do?

The rules do not impose a blanket ban on rewards paid by exchanges that hold and trade stablecoins. The OCC said in its final rule published in the Federal Register that stablecoin issuers may not pay holders yield solely for holding, using or retaining their coins; the agency will assess related arrangements under the facts and circumstances.

The OCC dropped a proposed rebuttable presumption that could have treated certain issuer-linked payments as violations. Instead, it said it will monitor issuer arrangements through application reviews and ongoing supervision, and take action if it identifies transactions that violate or evade the yield prohibition.

Why does the distinction matter?

Stablecoin reserves can earn interest from assets such as bank deposits and U.S. Treasury securities. Crypto platforms have sought to pass some of those earnings to customers as rewards, while banking groups have argued that competitive yields could draw deposits away from banks and reduce their capacity to lend, the AP reported.

The OCC rule takes effect Jan. 18, 2027. The agency said it may propose further rulemaking as the stablecoin market develops and it gains experience identifying prohibited transactions.

Sources and documents

• Associated Press report — apnews.com
• final rule published in the Federal Register — govinfo.gov