Senators press regulators to revisit Basel rules that deter banks from holding Bitcoin

Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Dan Sullivan are leading a letter to the Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency urging regulators to reconsider how Basel standards treat Bitcoin and other digital assets. The lawmakers say the current Basel framework assigns Bitcoin a 1,250% risk weight, which can require banks to hold capital equal to or exceeding the full value of their Bitcoin exposure. Under that approach, a bank with $100 million in bitcoin could be required to hold more than $100 million in capital against the position, making BTC holdings economically unattractive on bank balance sheets. The letter describes the rule as a "de facto ban" on bank ownership of digital assets and argues it fails to reflect Bitcoin's deep liquidity, transparent blockchain, global trading venues, active derivatives markets and continuous auditability. The senators also point to the Basel Committee's own acknowledgment that revisions may be needed, noting it launched a review of its cryptoasset framework in late 2025. The outreach comes as Congress moves forward with digital-asset market-structure legislation, adding pressure on regulators to adopt a more technology-neutral approach to Bitcoin.