Bank of America said in a report on Monday that cryptocurrency policy is moving from talk to implementation as the OCC, FDIC and Federal Reserve begin to develop regulatory scope for U.S. stablecoins and tokenized deposits.
Analysts led by Ebrahim Poonawala said the recent approvals and proposals mark the beginning of a multi-year transition that could push more real-world assets and payments onto the chain.
The OCC’s recent conditional approval of state trust bank charters for five digital asset companies is a meaningful step toward federal acceptance of stablecoins and cryptocurrency custody, analysts wrote. Analysts say the charters open the door to digital asset activity within the regulated banking system, provided it is provided as a trust service with strong liquidity, compliance and risk controls.
Analysts noted that the FDIC is expected to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking this week detailing how it would approve payment stablecoins issued by FDIC-regulated bank subsidiaries. These rules required by the GENIUS Act must be completed by July 2026 and take effect by January 2027.
The report also highlights comments from Federal Reserve officials indicating cooperation with other bank regulators on capital, liquidity and diversification standards for stablecoin issuers under the Genius Act. Analysts linked this to a broader global push, highlighting the Bank of England’s recent proposals for a systemic stablecoin management regime for the pound, including asset holding requirements and risk exposure caps.
Tokenized Deposits and Stablecoins
On the market structure front, Bank of America highlighted JPMorgan Chase and Singapore’s DBS Bank, which are exploring interoperable frameworks for tokenized value transfer across public and permissioned blockchains.
The work, which builds on JPMorgan’s JPMD tokenized deposit program, highlights the live debate over whether tokenized deposits are a better alternative to stablecoins, the report said.
Bank of America sees a bright future in which transactions in bonds, stocks, money market funds and cross-border payments will be moved on-chain, supported by new rules and institutional-grade infrastructure.
To prepare, banks need to not only be proficient in blockchain but also be willing to experiment with tokenized assets and on-chain settlement, the report adds.
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