(a) This chapter applies to any person engaged in the business of any of the following:

(1) Issuing a payment stablecoin to or on behalf of a resident of this State.

(2) Acting as a digital asset service provider with or on behalf of a resident of this State, to the extent that the person elects to register under § 3517 of this title or is subject to the consumer protection provisions of § 3535 of this title.

(3) Providing custody services for payment stablecoin reserve assets on behalf of a permitted payment stablecoin issuer licensed under this chapter, unless exempt under § 3507 of this title.

(b) A person engages in the issuance of a payment stablecoin in this State if the payment stablecoin is offered, sold, or made available to residents of this State, regardless of the physical location of the issuer.

85 Del. Laws, c. 339, § 1; 

(a) The following persons are exempt from the licensing requirements of subchapter III of this chapter:

(1) The United States, any state, any political subdivision of a state, or any agency or instrumentality of the foregoing.

(2) A federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer regulated and supervised exclusively by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 5903(b)(1), with respect to its payment stablecoin issuance activities.

(3) A subsidiary of an insured depository institution that has been approved by the appropriate federal banking agency to issue payment stablecoins pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 5904.

(4) A person engaged in money transmission that holds a license under Chapter 23 of this title, provided that such person may elect to register as a digital asset service provider under § 3517 of this title.

(5) An attorney, to the extent of providing escrow services to a resident.

(6) A title insurance company, to the extent of providing escrow services.

(7) A person whose total value of payment stablecoin issuance activity with or on behalf of residents, measured in United States dollars, does not exceed $5,000 in the aggregate on an annual basis, provided that the Commissioner may adjust this threshold by regulation not less frequently than every 3 years to reflect changes in the dollar value of regulated digital assets or other relevant economic factors.

(8) A person that develops, publishes, distributes, or maintains software, including self-custodial wallet software, solely to enable users to interact with distributed ledger systems, provided the person has no unilateral control over any user’s digital assets.

(9) A person exempt from licensure under applicable federal law or by order of the Commissioner.

(b) The following transactions are exempt from the licensing requirements of subchapter II of this chapter:

(1) The direct transfer of digital assets between 2 individuals acting on their own behalf and for their own lawful purposes, without the involvement of an intermediary.

(2) To any transaction involving the receipt of digital assets by an individual between an account owned by the individual in the United States and an account owned by the individual abroad that are offered by the same parent company.

(3) To any transaction by means of a software or hardware wallet that facilitates an individual’s own custody of digital assets.

85 Del. Laws, c. 339, § 1; 

(a) A public company, or a wholly or majority-owned subsidiary or affiliate of a public company, that is not predominantly engaged in 1 or more financial activities, as described in § 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. § 1843(k), including activities permissible for permitted payment stablecoin issuers and digital asset service providers under the GENIUS Act [12 U.S.C. § 5901 et seq.], may not issue a payment stablecoin in this State or to or on behalf of a resident of this State unless the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee established under the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5901(27), has approved such issuance by unanimous vote in accordance with § 4(a)(12) of the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(12).

(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) of this section applies equally to a company that is not domiciled in the United States or its territories and that is not predominantly engaged in 1 or more financial activities as described in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) For purposes of this section, whether a company is “predominantly engaged in 1 or more financial activities” shall be determined in accordance with the standards established by the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee pursuant to § 4(a)(12)(D) of the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(12)(D), or, in the absence of such standards, by the Commissioner by regulation, applying the standards applicable to financial holding companies under § 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. § 1843(k).

(d) The Commissioner may not issue a license under § 3511 of this title to an applicant subject to the prohibition in subsection (a) of this section unless the applicant has obtained the unanimous vote of the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee finding all of the following:

(1) The applicant will not pose a material risk to the safety and soundness of the United States banking system, the financial stability of the United States, or the Deposit Insurance Fund.

(2) The applicant will comply with the data use limitations applicable to permitted payment stablecoin issuers under § 4(a)(12)(B) of the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(12)(B).

(3) Any other findings required by the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee pursuant to § 4(a)(12) of the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(12).

(e) A permitted payment stablecoin issuer that is a public company, or a wholly or majority-owned subsidiary or affiliate of a public company, that is not predominantly engaged in 1 or more financial activities as described in subsection (a) of this section shall comply with the data use limitations established under § 4(a)(12)(B) of the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(12)(B), and any implementing regulations promulgated by the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee.

(f) The Commissioner shall promulgate regulations implementing this section, which shall be consistent with the standards and interpretive rules issued by the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee pursuant to § 4(a)(12)(D) of the GENIUS Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(12)(D).

85 Del. Laws, c. 339, § 1;