Federal regulators have proposed a new customer identification rule for permitted payment stablecoin issuers, marking another step toward bringing payment stablecoins into a clearer U.S. regulatory framework.

For Metal Dollar, the proposal reinforces a core design principle we have believed from the beginning: stablecoin issuance and redemption should happen through a compliant, verified account relationship, while the token itself should remain useful, transferable, and composable across digital networks.

The proposed rule, issued jointly by FinCEN, the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, and NCUA, would require permitted payment stablecoin issuers to maintain a written Customer Identification Program, or CIP, as part of their broader AML/CFT program. In practice, that means issuers would need procedures to collect and verify customer information before opening an account.

That is important, but it is not surprising.

Metal Dollar already requires users to have a KYC-enforced account before minting or redeeming XMD. Users who interact directly with the issuer for issuance or redemption must go through identity verification. This is the regulated interface where customer identification belongs.

Direct issuer relationships vs. secondary-market activity

The proposed rule focuses CIP obligations on accounts and direct relationships with the issuer. Issuing or redeeming a payment stablecoin is treated as an account-type activity. A person who acquires a stablecoin elsewhere and later seeks to redeem it directly with the issuer may create a customer relationship at that point.

But the proposal also recognizes that purely secondary-market activity is different. Transfers between wallets, activity through smart contracts, and ownership of a stablecoin alone do not automatically create an account relationship with the issuer.

That distinction matters.

A stablecoin can be compliant at the issuer layer without requiring every secondary-market transfer to become an account-opening event. This is the balance the industry needs: regulated access points for minting and redemption, combined with open on-chain utility once the asset is in circulation.

Metal Dollar was built around that model

Users can mint and redeem through a verified account. The issuer-facing flow is designed for compliance, accountability, and transparency. At the same time, XMD can function as an on-chain digital dollar within the broader ecosystem.

A compliance detail and a product philosophy

The future of stablecoins will not be defined by avoiding regulation. It will be defined by building systems that can meet regulatory expectations while preserving the speed, accessibility, and programmability that make digital dollars useful in the first place.

The proposed CIP rule points in that direction. It acknowledges that stablecoin issuers should know their customers when they establish direct issuance and redemption relationships. It also acknowledges that the blockchain layer operates differently from traditional account-based systems.

A meaningful signal for the market

A compliant stablecoin model should not have to choose between regulatory discipline and open network utility. It should support both.

That is the thesis behind Metal Dollar: verified where it matters, open where it creates value.

Read the proposed rule PDF here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/files/bcreg20260618a1.pdf