tl;dr
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced amendments to its crypto asset standards, prioritizing stablecoins on permissioned blockchains over permissionless ones. These changes, effective from January 1, 2026, grant preferential regulatory status to permissioned stablecoins, potenti...
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced new crypto asset standards, prioritizing stablecoins on permissioned blockchains over permissionless ones. These changes, effective from January 1, 2026, grant preferential regulatory status to permissioned stablecoins, potentially impacting banks and their crypto asset exposures.
Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, criticized the decision, considering it a backward step from BIS's initial forward-thinking approach. The framework also requires banks to provide standardized qualitative information about their crypto activities.
The amendments aim to clarify the prudential treatment of stablecoins, granting preferential “Group 1b” regulatory status to those on permissioned blockchains. This decision could significantly impact banks and their crypto asset exposures, as permissioned stablecoins will now receive more favorable treatment under the new standards.
Crypto industry observers have expressed concern that the BIS’s decision to favor permissioned stablecoins could hinder the adoption of more decentralized, permissionless blockchain technologies. Caitlin Long, Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, voiced her apprehension in a recent post, criticizing the BIS for excluding stablecoins on permissionless blockchains from bank use and favoring those on permissioned blockchains. Long views the approach as a step backward from BIS’s initial forward-thinking approach to crypto adoption.
Another community member explained that the decision stems from banks’ unwillingness to relinquish their advantage, asserting that permissioned blockchains allow them to maintain power. They suggested that banks and governments would go to great lengths, potentially even deploying extreme measures, to retain control.
The BIS’s finalized disclosure framework now includes standardized tables and templates detailing banks’ exposures to crypto assets. These templates mandate that banks provide qualitative insights into their crypto asset-related activities and quantitative data on the capital and liquidity requirements associated with their crypto asset exposures.