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Pro-crypto US senators have asked federal bank regulators to rewrite capital rules for digital assets. The letter says current standards discourage banks from entering the crypto market. It was led by Cynthia Lummis and Dan Sullivan, with support from Bill Hagerty, Bernie Moreno, Ted Budd, and Jon Husted. The senators sent it to the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC leaders.
They asked regulators to build on recent guidance for tokenized securities and move toward a fairer standard. The Federal Reserve said in March that eligible tokenized securities should receive the same capital treatment as their non-tokenized form. It also said the technology used to record ownership does not change the capital rule.
The senators also pointed to the Basel Committee crypto standards from 2022. Their letter says the committee assigned bitcoin and similar assets a 1,250% risk weight. They argued that the number did not come from a calibrated view of digital asset risk.
The letter says capital treatment should reflect the risk of the asset itself, not the technology used to record ownership. In practice, the senators said a 1,250% risk weight, paired with an 8% minimum capital ratio, can force banks to hold capital equal to the exposure.
The lawmakers also said crypto risks are real but measurable. They argued that banks can manage those risks through existing tools. They also said the current approach overlooks assets that trade in transparent and liquid markets around the world.
Read More: Clarity Act Boosts Crypto Rules While Tax Reporting Remains Messy
The push comes as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act continues moving through Congress. The Senate Banking Committee advanced H.R. 3633 in a bipartisan markup on May 14, 2026. Senate Republicans described it as a bill to create clearer rules for digital assets.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also backed broader crypto legislation. Reuters reported in March 2025 that he said plans would be discussed for a US strategic reserve that would include bitcoin. A White House report later said President Trump issued Executive Order 14233 on March 6, 2025, to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a US Digital Asset Stockpile.
Bessent has also argued that stablecoin rules matter for the wider digital asset market. Treasury said in July 2025 that the GENIUS Act gave the stablecoin market the clarity it needed to grow, and Bessent said it could expand the market and support demand for US Treasuries.
US senators are pressing regulators to adopt technology-neutral crypto banking rules that match real asset risk instead of punishing digital assets with extreme capital charges. Their push comes as the CLARITY Act gains ground and Washington debates how banks should handle crypto exposure.
