Delaware Moves to License Stablecoin Issuers in Bid to Attract Crypto Firms Back
Delaware built its dominance in US corporate law on a single bet in 1981: that businesses would flock to a state with clear, business-friendly rules. More than 60% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated there today.
The state is now attempting the same play in digital finance. Senator Spiros Mantzavinos and Representative Bill Bush unveiled the bills at the University of Delaware’s FinTech Innovation Hub alongside Governor Matt Meyer, who framed the package as a response to fintech and crypto companies quietly leaving the state, a trend sometimes called “Dexit,” citing regulatory ambiguity and reincorporating in Wyoming, Texas, or Florida.
“This legislative package sends a signal loud and clear: here in Delaware, we’re democratising our financial services and lowering the barriers to entry,” Meyer said.
SB 19, the Payment Stablecoin Act, creates three licence types: payment stablecoin issuer, digital asset service provider, and a combined licence. Under the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, issuers with less than $10 billion in outstanding stablecoin assets may operate under state rather than federal oversight. Delaware’s bill is designed to become the state framework smaller issuers opt into.
Requirements: minimum $5 million in capital, reserves covering 12 months of projected operating expenses, token redemption within two business days, and full anti-money laundering compliance. Stablecoin issuers are prohibited from paying interest or yield to holders, mirroring the GENIUS Act and addressing banking regulators’ concern that yield-bearing stablecoins blur the line with deposits.
The Banking Modernisation Companion
SB 16, the Banking Modernization Act, is the structural companion, the first substantive update to the state’s banking code since 1981. Most provisions concern traditional finance: corporate governance, organisational requirements for state-chartered banks, and rules for out-of-state institutions.
Its digital asset provisions add formal definitions of “digital asset” and “virtual currency” to the Delaware Code, legally permitting state-chartered banks and trust companies to issue and manage cryptocurrencies for the first time.
It also grants the State Bank Commissioner authority to hire outside technical experts, an acknowledgment that supervising crypto-native products requires skills the regulator may not currently hold. A third bill covering money transmission and virtual currency regulation is expected to follow.
The Competitive Landscape
Delaware is not the first state to move on stablecoin licensing. Wyoming created a special purpose depository institution charter in 2019 that attracted a handful of crypto banks. New York’s BitLicense has been the dominant state framework for years, though its compliance costs have driven companies toward more permissive alternatives.
The GENIUS Act’s sub-$10 billion carve-out for state-level oversight creates a structured opening for states to compete for stablecoin business that did not exist before July 2025, and Delaware is betting its legal infrastructure gives it an edge over newer entrants. The bills now go to the Delaware Senate Banking Committee before a full Senate vote.
