WASHINGTON, July 2 -- Circle Internet Financial, the San Francisco company behind the world's second-largest stablecoin, built a business on something the new rules will prohibit: paying interest.

Under the GENIUS Act framework being finalized by six federal agencies before a July 18 statutory deadline, Circle's USDC and every other compliant American stablecoin will be forbidden from offering yield to holders. The competitive damage lands unevenly. Tether, the offshore issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, faces no equivalent constraint.

Sixteen days remain. The agencies, the OCC, FDIC, NCUA, Treasury, FinCEN, and OFAC, must publish final rules by that date, exactly one year after Congress enacted the legislation on July 18, 2025. ...