CFTC Updates Payment Stablecoin Criteria To Recognize National Trust Banks – Details

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has amended a recent staff advisory to recognize payment stablecoins issued by national trust banks as eligible margin collateral. This move forms part of a broader regulatory initiative by the Commission on digital asset integration in line with US President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto agenda.

CFTC Clears FCMs To Accept Bank-Issued Stablecoins As Collateral 

In a press release on February 6, the CFTC’s Market Participants Division (MPD) announced an update to the CFTC Staff Letter 25-40, which communicated the “Staff No-Action Position Regarding Digital Assets Accepted As Margin Collateral.”

This memo was initially released on December 8, allowing all CFTC-registered futures commission merchants (FCM) to accept non-securities digital assets, e.g., payment stablecoins, as margin collateral as well as hold specific proprietary stablecoins in separate customer accounts.  

However, this earlier version of this memo only acknowledged eligible payment stablecoins as those issued by state-regulated money transmitters or trust companies. However, the CFTC has recognized that a payment stablecoin, as defined in the letter, may also be issued by a national trust bank. 

In Trump’s first term, the US historically chartered its first set of national trust banks to engage in custody and issuance of payment stablecoins. The CFTC clarifies there was no intention to initially exclude national trust banks as stablecoin issuers, a position that has now been formally affirmed in the updated version of CFTC Letter 25-40.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig has lauded the reissue, recognizing the growing role of the national trust banks and America as a whole in the stablecoin industry. 

Selig said: 

National Bank Charter: Digital Asset Banks Push For Recognition

In other reports, the competition among digital asset firms to obtain national bank charters reflects a broader effort to integrate cryptocurrency services into the regulated US financial system. A national trust bank charter allows crypto companies to operate under federal oversight, strengthening credibility and expanding institutional partnerships. 

In January 2025, Anchorage Digital represented the first crypto-native firm to receive such approval. Presently, several firms, including Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, and BitGo, have also received conditional approvals from the OCC in a bid to broaden their service offerings.