US Congress Eyes Blockchain-Friendly Banking Rules
The US Congress is considering legislation that would clarify the ability of banks and credit unions to hold digital assets, issue stablecoins, and use blockchain technology.
The proposals aim to establish clearer statutory treatment for activities that have previously depended on guidance from individual banking regulators, including digital-asset custody and participation in blockchain-based financial networks.
While the emerging framework would generally establish which activities regulated institutions can conduct, it would leave prudential requirements such as capital, liquidity, cybersecurity, and risk management with existing banking supervisors.
The legislation could reduce uncertainty created by changing regulatory interpretations over whether banks need separate approvals before offering crypto-related services.
Banks could potentially use distributed ledgers to transfer deposits, settle transactions, manage tokenized securities, and communicate with other financial institutions, provided those activities comply with existing banking and financial-crime rules.