U.S. regulators are no longer debating whether stablecoins belong inside the financial system. The focus has shifted to how they fit - and who gets to issue them.
Key Takeaways
The CFTC clarified that stablecoins issued by federally chartered trust banks qualify for use in regulated derivatives markets.
The update removes an unintended regulatory imbalance and aligns directly with the GENIUS Act framework.
Clearer rules are accelerating institutional adoption of compliant, bank-issued stablecoins.
A recent update from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission signals that this question is being answered decisively in favor of federally regulated institutions.
Through a revised no-action framework, the agency has cleared a key regulatory inconsistency that had sidelined national trust banks from using their own stablecoins in derivatives markets. While the change may look technical on paper, its implications for institutional crypto adoption are substantial.
Ending an Accidental Two-Tier Stablecoin System
The December 2025 guidance unintentionally created a strange hierarchy. State-regulated money transmitters such as Circle and Paxos were allowed to issue payment stablecoins eligible for margin use, while federally chartered national trust banks were left out entirely. T
The updated staff letter explicitly includes national trust banks as permitted issuers, removing what many market participants viewed as an illogical regulatory gap. In practice, it places federally supervised banks on equal footing with state-licensed stablecoin issuers, rather than penalizing them for operating under stricter oversight.
GENIUS Act Alignment Comes Into Focus
This adjustment did not happen in isolation. It closely mirrors the structure laid out in the GENIUS Act, signed into law in mid-2025, which introduced the first nationwide framework for stablecoins.
Under that law, approved stablecoins must be fully backed by reserves and grant holders priority claims in insolvency scenarios. By updating its collateral guidance to recognize bank-issued stablecoins, the CFTC is effectively synchronizing derivatives regulation with the broader federal stablecoin regime rather than running a parallel rulebook.
From Stablecoins to Tokenized Collateral
The stablecoin clarification is only one part of a wider shift. The CFTC is already operating a tokenization pilot program that allows futures commission merchants to accept Bitcoin, Ether, and qualifying stablecoins as margin collateral.
The conditions are strict – legal enforceability, segregation of customer assets, and operational controls remain non-negotiable. But the direction is clear: regulated crypto assets are moving closer to the plumbing of U.S. derivatives markets instead of sitting on the periphery.
Project Crypto and the Push for Regulatory Unity
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has described the revision as part of “Project Crypto,” a joint effort with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins. The goal is to reduce regulatory fragmentation and present a more unified federal approach to digital assets.
Rather than competing interpretations from multiple agencies, the initiative aims to standardize how crypto products are supervised across markets – a long-standing demand from institutional players.
Institutional Demand Is Already Responding
The market reaction suggests the change is more than symbolic. Greater clarity around bank-issued digital assets has already translated into tangible growth for institutional products. Ripple’s RLUSD, for example, has seen its market capitalization climb to around $1.5 billion as confidence in compliant, bank-friendly stablecoins improves.
For large asset managers and derivatives firms, the message is increasingly hard to ignore. Stablecoins that meet federal standards are no longer experimental instruments – they are becoming accepted collateral inside regulated markets.
A Line in the Sand for U.S. Crypto Policy
Taken together, the revised guidance, the GENIUS Act, and ongoing tokenization pilots point to a clear policy stance. The U.S. is not trying to slow stablecoins down. It is trying to domesticate them – under federal rules, inside regulated institutions, and within existing market infrastructure.
That shift may define the next phase of crypto adoption, where innovation continues, but only for assets that are willing to live inside the system rather than outside it.
