U.S. banking regulators have clarified that banks will not be required to hold extra capital against losses when handling blockchain-based securities. The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC stated their rules are "technology neutral" and will not differentiate between tokenized and traditional securities for capital requirements.
The agencies issued this guidance due to growing bank interest in representing ownership rights via tokenized securities. The statement emphasized that the technologies used for issuing and transacting securities generally do not alter their capital treatment.
This clarification comes as the industry anticipates tokenized shares, which track traditional equities using blockchain technology, could revolutionize stock markets by enabling 24/7 trading and instant settlement, thereby increasing liquidity and lowering transaction costs.