Delaware just moved. Quietly, but with serious weight behind it.
On March 23, 2026, the state introduced Senate Bill 19 to the 153rd General Assembly. The bill sits with the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance and Technology Committee. It targets payment stablecoin issuers operating with or on behalf of Delaware residents.
As Cointelegraph posted on X, the legislation is bipartisan and demands 1:1 reserve backing, monthly audits, and full AML and KYC compliance under the existing state banking framework.
Primary sponsor Senator Mantzavinos filed it alongside Senator Pettyjohn, with Representatives Bush and Spiegelman listed as additional sponsors.
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This Is Not a Draft. Delaware Means Business.
The bill’s full name is an Act to Amend Title 5 of the Delaware Code relating to stablecoins. According to the official bill text on the Delaware legislature website, it draws definitions directly from the federal GENIUS Act, signed into law as Public Law 119-27. It also pulls from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed rulemaking under Docket ID OCC-2025-0372.
Reserve shortfall remediation. Mandatory redemption timing. Capital standards. All in the text.
The bill adds a federal-to-state charter conversion pathway. That is a direct signal to firms currently operating under federal oversight. Delaware is building a door for them.
Data privacy floors, custody safeguards, and change-in-control notice procedures are also written in. The State Bank Commissioner gets authority to issue implementing regulations in step with evolving federal standards. That flexibility matters.
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The bill needs a supermajority to pass. Section 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution demands a two-thirds vote from both chambers to create new criminal jurisdiction. That requirement is baked into the bill’s design.
Why the GENIUS Act Connection Matters So Much
Delaware is not operating in a vacuum. The bill explicitly anchors itself to the federal GENIUS Act. That statute, already signed into law, gave states a runway to build compatible frameworks. Delaware is one of the first to actually move.
Monthly audits are not standard in most state-level financial regulation. Requiring them for stablecoin issuers signals that lawmakers are not treating this like a tech experiment. They are treating it like banking.
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The 1:1 reserve requirement cuts out the fractional reserve structures that caused failures in the 2022 and 2023 stablecoin collapses. That history is clearly part of this bill’s architecture. Issuers cannot hold less than full backing. Period.
As Cointelegraph noted on X, the AML and KYC compliance layer brings stablecoin issuers in line with what traditional banks have operated under for years. That closes a gap regulators have flagged consistently.
The bill is currently awaiting committee consideration. No vote date has been set.
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