Delaware’s General Assembly is considering updated legislation that would create a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital payment stablecoins — a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value.
The measure, known as Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 19, makes several changes from the original bill. Among the key updates, the legislation reorganizes the proposed “Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act” to fall under Chapter 35 of Title 5 of the Delaware Code, rather than Chapter 40 as the original bill proposed.
The revised bill also introduces new provisions not found in the earlier version. One section would prohibit non-financial public companies from issuing payment stablecoins. Another creates a voluntary registration pathway for digital asset service providers, replacing a licensing process that was part of the original proposal. A third new section lays out procedures to follow if a payment stablecoin issuer becomes insolvent.
Additional changes include a new definition of “control” tailored to fit the bill’s framework, and an expanded definition of “registered public accounting firm” that now includes certified public accounting firms meeting standards set by the Delaware Board of Accountancy.
The legislation draws its definitions from the federal Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act — known as the GENIUS Act — as well as from a proposed rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where those definitions don’t overlap with existing Delaware law.
The bill would establish reserve requirements, mandatory redemption timing standards, capital standards, anti-money laundering obligations, data privacy protections, and safeguards related to custody of assets. It also includes procedures for when a company wants to change control and a pathway for converting from a federal to a state charter.
The State Bank Commissioner would be required to issue implementing regulations within set timeframes to keep Delaware’s rules in line with changing federal standards.
Because the bill amends Delaware’s general incorporation law, it requires more than a simple majority to pass — specifically, a two-thirds vote from members of each chamber of the General Assembly, as required by the state constitution.
