Crypto exchanges can keep offering interest-like rewards on stablecoins for now, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Wednesday, as the agency finalized its rule implementing the GENIUS Act and dropped a proposed presumption against such programs over the objections of the banking industry.

Stablecoin issuers themselves remain barred from paying interest directly to holders. The rule takes effect Jan. 18, 2027, the same day as the law, and the OCC said it will announce separately when it will begin accepting applications from prospective issuers.

The OCC is the first federal regulator to finalize its part of the…