Based on a report from Reuters, the chairman of FDIC – Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, Jelena McWilliams, mentioned that the United States regulators are looking for a way to allow their banks and even clients to hold BTC and other digital assets.
In achieving this, the officials are trying to give incentives to every entity that holds their BTC within the regulated corporation in the country and even gain some level of control over the crypto space. The FCIC chair clarified that this decision is currently under consideration by the bank regulators in the US.
Similarly, there will soon be the release of a roadmap for all the banks to dive into the BTC market and the entire crypto space. In this expected road map are the basic rules for banks interested in holding Bitcoin and other digital assets, including clients trading with products related to cryptocurrencies and the use for loan collateral.
If this roadmap is approved, there will be a new wave of BTC adoption, which will see the crypto industry welcome some other traditional institutions, more financial products, and crypto services.
On this, the Chairman of the FDIC said, “In my opinion, banks in the US should be allowed to enter the crypto space, but they must mitigate and manage the risks involved, of course. If the banks are not allowed, several unregulated bodies will rise and the US regulators will be handicapped.”
Holding BTC and Other Crypto Within the Borders of the United States
The FDIC Chair gave a perspective similar to Hester Peirce, the SEC Commissioner, and other pro-crypto officials in the United States. She also believes that incentivizing people will make them keep BTC from moving from the US Borders.
Additionally, McWilliams is concerned about consumers protection when it comes to accessing products that are unregulated and inefficient as a means of gaining exposure in the crypto industry. The ultimate objective is a consensus in the approach employed by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), and the main bank regulators in the United States.
Based on the report given by the media outlet, there seems to be some disagreement among the regulators on how BTC amidst other crypto-assets can be used as collateral because of its volatility. It is in that regard that Jelena McWilliams said, “The main issue is about the valuation of these crypto-assets and the massive value fluctuation they experience almost every day. To treat this, you must decide the liquidity treatment and the kind of capital to allocate to such holdings.”