Digital assets working group releases regulatory recommendations

The President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets released its report this week with several recommendations on the regulation of digital assets. An Executive Order issued in January directed the working group to compile the report for the president, with the assistant to the president on national economic policy using it to form legislative and regulatory proposals to advance the administration’s policies.

The working group recommends financial regulators:

• Clarify permissible financial institution activities for custody, tokenization, stablecoin issuance, and the use of blockchains;
• Promote transparency regarding the process for institutions to obtain charters or Reserve Bank master accounts; and
• Ensure that capital rules are aligned with the actual risks associated with digital assets.

America’s Credit Unions generally supports alignment of capital rules to facilitate engagement with digital assets and is currently advocating for the NCUA to commence rulemakings to affirm custodial authority for credit unions. It has raised concerns about financial stability risks associated with uninsured special purpose institutions obtaining master accounts and has encouraged the Federal Reserve to carefully evaluate the business plans and prudential oversight of entities that may be eligible for access.