Global banking regulators are preparing to reassess their most stringent cryptocurrency regulations, following the refusal of the United States and the United Kingdom to enforce these rules, a move that threatens the long-standing consensus reached by the Basel Committee.
Swedish central bank governor and chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) Erik Thedéen stated in an interview with the Financial Times that they may need to take a "different approach" regarding the current 1,250% risk weight set for crypto asset risk exposure.
According to global law firm White & Case, applying a 1,250% risk weight means that credit institutions must hold at least an amount of their own capital equivalent to their related crypto asset exposure.
Under the current framework, crypto assets issued on unlicensed blockchains (including stablecoins like USDt and USDC) are assigned the same 1,250% risk weight as the highest-risk venture capital.
However, Thedéen acknowledged that the rapid growth of regulated stablecoins has changed the policy landscape. "What has happened is actually very dramatic," Thedéen told the Financial Times, adding that the significant increase in the number of stablecoins and the scale of assets in the system requires a new response.
"We need to start analyzing, but we must move forward quite quickly," Thedéen added, raising questions about the risks of stablecoins and whether there are reasons to handle these assets in a "different way."
Resistance from major economies is now more apparent. According to the Financial Times, the Federal Reserve does not intend to enforce the Basel crypto rules as written, with policymakers believing that the capital requirements are too unrealistic.
The Bank of England has also stated that it will not apply the framework in its current form. Meanwhile, the European Union has only partially implemented the 2022 standards and excluded important provisions covering unlicensed blockchains.
Bloomberg previously cited anonymous sources reporting that the Basel Committee is preparing to revise its 2022 guidelines next year to provide more favorable conditions for banks participating in the crypto market.
Reports indicate that many banks interpret the framework as an obstacle to their involvement in cryptocurrency or stablecoin services.
As regulated stablecoins gain attention in the U.S.—supported by President Trump and the passage of the GENIUS Act (which formally authorizes these assets for payments)—related discussions are becoming increasingly intense.
Thedéen expressed similar concerns in the Financial Times report, noting that the rising adoption of stablecoins requires a new analysis and may warrant a more lenient stance.
However, he also stated that reaching a consensus is not easy due to fundamental differences among national regulators regarding the risk attributes of cryptocurrencies and the role of banks in issuing digital assets.
"It is difficult to go further at the moment because I am the chair, and there are significant differences of opinion within this committee," he said.
Policy divergence is leading to an imbalanced competitive environment among global banks. If EU banks still have to comply with strict regulations while the U.S. and the U.K. adopt a more lenient framework, the competitive landscape of the industry will be severely skewed.
This imbalance will affect which jurisdictions can develop bank-issued stablecoin products, tokenized deposits, and even crypto custody solutions.
Related: El Salvador's latest $100 million Bitcoin (BTC) purchase reignites questions related to the IMF agreement.
Original text: “U.S. and U.K. opposition forces Basel to reconsider harsh crypto capital rules for banks”
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