The Federal Reserve is set to open a new chapter in the US Basel III debate next week, and for Bitcoin policy advocates the stakes are unusually clear: whether the largest American banks will keep inheriting a capital regime that treats bitcoin as effectively untouchable. The fight centers on Basel’s 1,250% risk weight for certain crypto exposures, a calibration critics say makes regulated bank participation in Bitcoin uneconomic by design.
Bitcoin’s ‘Toxic’ Basel Label Heads For Public ReviewThat timing tracks with the Fed’s broader capital overhaul. In a March 12 speech at the Cato Institute, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said the central bank would, “in the coming weeks,” propose rules to implement the final phase of Basel III in the United States, alongside related changes to other capital requirements. Reuters reported that the Fed will vote on the proposal next week, after which the package is expected to be opened for a 90-day public comment period.
The Fed’s proposal itself is not being marketed as a crypto-specific rewrite. Bowman’s speech focused mainly on recalibrating capital rules across lending, market risk, operational risk and systemic bank surcharges so they better reflect what regulators view as actual risk. But for Bitcoin policy groups, the coming comment window creates a rare opening to challenge whether US regulators should import Basel’s most punitive crypto treatment unchanged, or move toward a framework based on measurable risks rather than a flat deterrent.
At press time, Bitcoin traded at $71,394.
