Basel Committee Chairman: Will reconsider bank cryptocurrency rules
TL;DR
Basel Committee Chairman Erik Thedéen says global bank crypto rules need re-examination due to outdated risk weightings and regulatory gaps. With stablecoins nearing $300 billion, regulators are pressured to reassess systemic risks.
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According to Foresight News , citing FinanceFeeds, Erik Thedéen, Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, stated in an interview with the Financial Times that global rules governing banks' exposure to crypto assets must be re-examined. The current framework, particularly the extreme risk weighting of up to 1250% for banks holding certain crypto assets, was developed when the market was far from mature. Meanwhile, the refusal of major jurisdictions such as the US and UK to adopt the existing form of the Basel standards highlights a widening gap in regulatory consistency.
The rules under review were initially drafted several years ago and were originally scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. Under current standards, crypto assets operating on permissionless blockchains (including many stablecoins) would be rated at the highest risk level, a level typically reserved for the riskiest banking activities. Now, with stablecoins in circulation approaching $300 billion and increasingly integrated into institutional payment mechanisms, regulators are facing pressure to reassess whether permissionless systems themselves pose a systemic risk.