Florida Payment Stablecoin Issuer Regime

HB 175 is designed to align Florida law with the federal Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act. The bill defines a payment stablecoin as a digital asset designed for payment or settlement where the issuer is obligated to redeem it for a fixed amount of monetary value or creates a reasonable expectation of stable value. It excludes national currency, bank deposits, and securities from that definition.

The Florida framework would create a new Part V of chapter 560, Florida Statutes, titled “Payment Stablecoin Issuers.” It would also create s. 658.997 for trust companies seeking approval to engage in qualified payment stablecoin issuer activity. The state regime is intended to support certification to the federal Stablecoin Certification Review Committee that Florida’s framework is substantially similar to the GENIUS Act.

Beginning October 1, 2026, if the bill becomes law, a person generally could not engage in qualified payment stablecoin issuer activity in Florida unless licensed as a money services business or exempt from licensure. A trust company would need a certificate of approval from OFR unless an exemption applies. Exempt categories include federally qualified payment stablecoin issuers and out-of-state state-qualified issuers for which Florida is a host state, subject to written notice requirements.

The bill would leave certain activities outside the new part, including direct transfers between individuals without an intermediary, certain same-provider transfers between an individual’s U.S. and foreign accounts, and self-custody transactions through software or hardware wallets. It would also provide that a payment stablecoin meeting the bill’s requirements is not a security under Florida chapter 517.

• Activity scope: Licensed issuers could issue and redeem payment stablecoins, manage related reserves, provide reserve custody services, and conduct directly supporting activities.
• Reserve backing: Issuers would need identifiable reserves backing outstanding payment stablecoins at least one-to-one, using specified liquid assets such as U.S. currency, insured deposits or shares, short-term Treasuries, certain repo arrangements, government money market funds, and approved federal assets.
• Redemption and disclosure: Issuers would need public redemption policies, plain-language fee disclosures, monthly reserve composition publication, monthly reserve examinations, and officer certifications.
• Conduct limits: The bill restricts tying arrangements, deceptive government-related names, misleading legal-tender marketing, and interest or yield payments where prohibited under federal law.

HB 175 would update Florida money-laundering and financial-institution provisions to include payment stablecoins. Qualified issuers would have to comply with federal AML, sanctions, customer-identification, and due-diligence requirements and submit certifications to OFR after approval and annually. The bill also creates a transition mechanism for issuers that reach $10 billion in consolidated total outstanding payment stablecoin issuance, requiring transition to federal joint oversight or a pause on new issuance unless a federal waiver applies.

Editors should classify this profile as a Florida state bill/regime profile, not as an enacted Florida statute, unless the official record later shows governor approval, chaptering, or another final disposition.