Basel Committee Launches Crypto Consultation

As flagged last week, the Basel Committee has launched a third consultation on proposed cryptoasset regulation, this one about a targeted adjustment to its standard on banks’ exposures to cryptoassets.

When the cryptoasset standard was published in December 2022, the Committee noted that certain issues would be subject to monitoring and review due to the rapid pace of market developments. It also received prolonged pushback from the banking industry over its original proposals, which were seen as over-stringent and likely to exclude banks from the asset class. The committee says following reviews conducted during 2023, it proposes to update the requirements relating to banks’ exposures to stablecoins.

The proposals flesh out the criteria on the composition of the reserve assets that back stablecoins, covering issues such as the credit quality, maturity and liquidity of the reserve assets. The requirements determine whether the stablecoins to which banks’ may be exposed will be eligible for inclusion in the Group 1b category of cryptoassets, and thus benefit from a preferential regulatory treatment.

Under the proposals banks would also be required to perform due diligence to ensure that they have an adequate understanding of the stabilisation mechanisms of stablecoins to which they are exposed and how effective they are. As part of this due diligence, banks would be required to conduct statistical or other tests demonstrating that the stablecoin maintains a stable relationship in comparison to the reference asset.

Finally, the consultative document includes various proposed technical amendments and a set of answers to frequently asked questions to help promote a consistent understanding of the cryptoasset standard.

The document can be found here.