US and UK opposition forces Basel to reconsider crypto capital rules for banks

Jinse Finance reported that Erik Thedéen, Governor of the Swedish Central Bank and Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), stated in an interview that they may need to take "a different approach" to the current 1250% risk weight applied to crypto assets. According to global law firm White & Case, if the 1250% risk weight is applied, banks must hold at least an equivalent amount of their own capital against their crypto asset exposures. Under the current framework, any crypto asset issued on a permissionless chain—including stablecoins such as USDt and USDC—is required to be subject to the same 1250% risk weight as the riskiest venture investments. However, Thedéen acknowledged that the rapid growth of regulated stablecoins has changed the policy environment. He stated in the interview: "What has happened is very dramatic. Stablecoins are growing strongly, and the scale of assets in the system requires us to adopt a new approach." Thedéen added: "We need to start analyzing, and we must do so quite quickly." He also suggested that the risks of stablecoins need to be reassessed and considered whether there is reason to take "a different approach" to this asset class.