Delaware files Payment Stablecoin Act mandating 1:1 reserves, banning yield in first banking code update since 1981

Delaware lawmakers have introduced a pair of bills that would overhaul the state’s banking code for the first time in decades and create a detailed regulatory regime for U.S. dollar payment stablecoins, including strict 1:1 reserve backing and an explicit ban on paying interest or yield on those stablecoins. On March 23, 2026, Senators Spiros Mantzavinos and Brian Pettyjohn and Representatives Kerri Evelyn Harris Bush, Lyndon Yearick Spiegelman, and others filed Senate Bill 19, the Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act, alongside Senate Bill 16, the Delaware Banking Modernization Act of 2026, which together seek to position Delaware as a leading jurisdiction for digital asset and stablecoin regulation. SB 19 would add a new Chapter 35 to Title 5 of the Delaware Code to license and supervise payment stablecoin issuers and certain digital asset service providers serving Delaware residents. The framework is designed to be “substantially similar” to the federal GENIUS Act and related Office of the Comptroller of the Currency standards, with the Delaware State Bank Commissioner as primary regulator. The bill mandates 1:1 reserve backing by fair value in specified high‑quality liquid assets, segregation of those reserves from custodian assets, and limits on rehypothecation, as well as mandatory redemption within two business days (subject to narrow stress‑event extensions), monthly reserve reporting examined by an independent accounting firm, and robust anti‑money‑laundering and data‑privacy programs. Critically, SB 19 would prohibit the payment of interest or yield on payment stablecoins, unless and until federal law or guidance affirmatively allows it, echoing the GENIUS Act’s consumer‑protection approach and sharply distinguishing these tokens from yield‑bearing crypto products. SB 16, running in parallel, updates Delaware’s core banking code—its first major revision since the early 1980s—by adding statutory definitions of “digital asset” and “virtual currency” and confirming that Delaware‑chartered banks and savings banks may hold and administer digital assets as fiduciaries. Together, SB 16 and SB 19 are part of Delaware’s wider bid to align with emerging federal stablecoin standards and to qualify as a “state‑qualified” framework under the GENIUS Act, while giving the state a clearer consumer‑protection and prudential toolkit for supervising stablecoin activity carried out with or on behalf of Delaware residents.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

More coverage

• Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act (SB 19) | Crypto Law Profile (cryptoslate.com)
• Delaware's Bid for Digital Asset Leadership: Senate Bills 16 and 19 ... (jonesday.com)
• Senate Bill 19 - Bill Detail - Delaware General Assembly (legis.delaware.gov)
• Delaware's Senate passed the Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act ... (x.com)
• 'Substantially Similar' Regulatory Frameworks Under the GENIUS Act (jdsupra.com)

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