Blockchain Legal Resource

As we stated in our March 13, 2023 Client Alert, the Federal Reserve issued a press release on March 12, 2023, announcing the creation of the new Bank Term Fund Program (“BTFP”). The Federal Reserve established the BTFP to make available additional funding to eligible depository institutions in order to help assure that banks have the ability to meet the needs of all their depositors.

In the past month, the Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC have each detailed their upcoming focus on digital asset activities in the banking industry. So far, state banking regulators have often outpaced their federal counterparts in terms of issuing formal regulations and guidance around digital assets. Many banks are waiting to explore potential digital asset products and services until the functional federal bank regulators provide concrete guidance to complete the picture.

Newly-proposed federal legislation would require all issuers of stablecoins and certain other digital asset companies to obtain a bank charter as a condition to operation. Referred to as the Stablecoin Tethering and Bank Licensing Enforcement (STABLE) Act, the draft legislation is intended to shift certain digital currency activities into the regulated banking framework.

On Wednesday, September 16, 2020, the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken Financial became the first crypto company to obtain a bank charter. The Wyoming Division of Banking approved Kraken’s application for a special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter, which is a new type of bank charter that Wyoming specifically designed for crypto businesses. This makes Kraken the first de novo bank chartered in the state since 2006.

In a recent op-ed, Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s chief economist, posited that “digital currencies will not displace the dominant dollar.” In particular, the dollar’s status is supported by the “institutions, rule of law, and credible investor protection” that the United States provides. She also expressed her view that a synthetic hegemonic currency—a digital basket of reserve currencies recently proposed by outgoing Bank of England governor Mark Carney—faces steep obstacles to implementation. While the world would benefit from a greater role for the euro and the renminbi, Gopinath suggests that their institutions require greater development. Instead, the US may be developing an advantage in making the dollar the dominant digital currency through its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism.

A recent speech by Fed Governor Lael Brainard entitled “Digital Currencies, Stablecoins, and the Evolving Payments Landscape” discusses a number of topics of interest to the crypto community, including the development of stablecoins and their potential impact on the global payments system. In particular, Governor Brainard opined that the widespread adoption of stablecoins could have implications for the role of central banks and monetary policy.