Toomey bill would allow Fed master accounts for stablecoin issuers

Retiring Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) introduced legislation on stablecoin regulation, contributing to the debate over crypto oversight that will resume during the next Congress.

Legislation: Toomey’s bill would charge the OCC with creating a federal licensing system for stablecoin issuers. It also contains ICBA-opposed language that would require the Federal Reserve to allow nonbank stablecoin issuers to establish and maintain accounts at the Fed if they are licensed by the OCC or are a state money transmitter business.

ICBA Views: ICBA strongly supports bringing stablecoin issuers and the rest of the crypto sector within the regulatory perimeter, arguing in a recent Medium op-ed that the FTX collapse is a predictable example of the serious risks that digital assets pose. ICBA also has raised concerns about allowing uninsured institutions to have Fed master accounts.