Global banks may soon take a more favorable view of cryptocurrencies as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) prepares to revise its landmark guidance on crypto exposure, according to a Bloomberg report published on Friday.
According to In Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, the Basel Committee’s 2022 guidance on the treatment of crypto banks will be updated next year to be more favorable. This follows the release of previous standards in 2022, with most banks interpreting them as a signal to avoid crypto altogether.
Bloomberg’s sources said that the Basel Committee recently held talks about the applicability of the previous rules, which the United StatesThe United Kingdom and the European Union have yet to fully implement.
The need for new rules arose from the rapid growth of StableCoins, which recently Regulated in the US by the Genius Act and is now authorized for use in payments.
Under existing Basel rules, stablecoins issued on public blockchains are subject to the same capital charge as riskier assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC) or ether (Eth). That parity has drawn criticism from market participants who argue that regulated, asset-backed bonds induce lower risks.
A strong standard body setting
The Basel Committee is a global body that sets international standards for bank regulation, focusing on capital adequacy, risk management and supervision. Its rules, such as Basel III, ensure that banks around the world remain stable and resilient, presumably reducing the risk of global financial crises.
Related: The Basel Committee proposes to introduce maturity limits for StableCoin Reserve assets
The comments follow Chris Perkins, president of investment company Coinfund, saying in mid-August that capital requirements for banks set by The Basel Committee created a “chokepoint“Designed to throttle the growth of the crypto industry. He said at the time:
“It’s a very nuanced way of stifling activity by making it so expensive for the bank to do the activities that they’re like, ‘I can’t do it.'”
Related: Basel Committee finalizes crypto exposure rules for banks
According to the report, some countries want to stay ahead of the game and review standards before implementing them, like the US. Other countries prefer to implement the current standards and review them later.
The EU markets in the regulation of crypto-assets The Framework now allows StableCoins to attract the same capital treatment as their backing, usually cash and cash equivalents.
Magazine: The Genius Act reopens the door for a meta stablecoin, but will it work?
