FDIC considers clear regulatory terms for banks who want to handle crypto assets

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC, has announced through its chairperson Jelena McWilliams that the agency is working with other regulators in the U.S. with hopes of looking at the possibilities of banks involving in crypto-related activities.

In a speech which she delivered during the Money20/20 Fintech Conference on Monday, McWilliams said the FDIC, is presently working alongside other agencies like the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Reserve with hopes of providing clear regulatory terms and policies for banks handling crypto assets, including stablecoins. The chairperson also said the FDIC will be issuing some policy statements in the next few months to help banks stay in compliance.

McWilliams then admitted to the numerous benefits that stablecoins can offer to customers, including being a cheaper, faster and more efficient means of payment. But she was also critical of the fact that, if ever one or more were to gain traction and become a common means of payment in the United States or globally, then it could negatively affect the country’s financial stability.

According to the FDIC chairperson, despite the great number of benefits that comes along, the potential risks alao attached to the use of stablecoins, is why they should be subjected to proper overseeing by the government. She then remarked that the only way to really ensure the oversight, would be to keep stablecoins issued from outside the banking sector, backed 1 to 1 by safe, highly liquid assets.

McWilliams’ comments follows after  Bloomberg also reported same day, that many U.S. regulators had agreed that the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC should lead the nation’s efforts to regulate stablecoins.

Issues have always bordered on the fact that many U.S regulations about digital assets have always been complex in nature, thereby causing complications for many firms in that ecosystem.