BlackRock Advocates for Reconsideration of GENIUS Act Regulations
BlackRock has submitted a comment to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), advocating for a reconsideration of certain aspects of the proposed regulations under the GENIUS Act, particularly regarding the treatment of tokenized reserve assets tied to stablecoins. The asset management giant is pushing back against an initial proposal that seeks to impose a 20% limit on the amount of tokenized reserves that stablecoin issuers can hold, contending that such restrictions should be based on the quality of credit, maturity, and liquidity of the assets, rather than on the nature of their ledger technology.
Overview of the GENIUS Act
The GENIUS Act, which was established in July 2025, aims to create a national regulation framework for payment stablecoins. The OCC’s draft rules are designed to enforce compliance among regulated issuers. These rules focus on mandates for reserving, redeeming, safeguarding, and reporting stablecoin-related assets. They stipulate that stablecoin issuers diversify their reserve holdings to mitigate risks related to credit, liquidity, interest rates, and price fluctuations while discouraging heavy reliance on a single financial entity or a small number of custodians.
BlackRock’s Requests and Concerns
Furthermore, BlackRock has requested that the OCC broaden the set of eligible assets that can be held in reserve. Specifically, they are seeking clarification that Treasury exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be classified as stablecoin reserves, provided they fulfill stringent safety and liquidity criteria. Currently, the draft regulation enumerates several approved reserve types such as U.S. cash, reserves held at the Federal Reserve, various Treasury securities, and certain government money market funds, with the inclusion of some assets in tokenized format.
Despite the potential for tokenized reserves to be capped, BlackRock’s commentary highlights the discrepancies in treating tokenized Treasury assets in the same manner as their traditional counterparts, emphasizing that technological format alone should not dictate asset safety.
Integration of Digital Assets in Financial Practices
This comment arrives as BlackRock’s own tokenized Treasury fund, known as BUIDL, is seeing increased adoption within cryptocurrency market frameworks. Notably, the cryptocurrency exchange OKX has integrated BUIDL into its system for institutional clients, collaborating with Standard Chartered to manage collateral. This allows eligible clients to utilize BUIDL as trading margin while maintaining ownership of the fund and its income, all under a structured margin setup managed by OKX.
BlackRock’s recent push reflects a growing trend in the financial sector towards integrating digital assets with traditional financial practices, as regulatory frameworks continue to be developed and refined.
