The U.S. Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a joint clarification stating that banks must maintain the same capital requirements for tokenized securities as they do for traditional securities. The guidance, delivered in a frequently-asked-questions document on Thursday, establishes a principle of technological neutrality, asserting that the method of issuance or transaction does not alter the capital treatment.
The regulators emphasized that the legal rights of security owners remain unchanged regardless of the transaction medium, and therefore the capital framework designed to protect the financial system must apply consistently. This means a tokenized corporate bond or equity security requires the same capital reserve as its non-tokenized counterpart. The rule also applies uniformly whether the tokens are issued on permissioned or permissionless blockchains.
Furthermore, the agencies clarified that tokenized assets can be used as financial collateral, but will be subject to the same haircuts (risk-mitigation discounts applied to collateral value) as traditional securities. This eliminates any potential for regulatory arbitrage based on the technology used.
The move provides much-needed clarity for banks and financial institutions exploring blockchain applications for asset tokenization—a growing segment where assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate are represented as tokens on a blockchain. The decision aligns with international dialogue from bodies like the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and follows years of exploratory work and pilot programs. Experts view this as an application of the "same activity, same risk, same rules" principle, focusing on the economic substance of the asset rather than the technology.
While this guidance legitimizes tokenization within the existing supervisory framework, it also imposes a compliance burden, requiring banks to integrate digital asset management into their risk and capital systems. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also noted to be working on related policies for handling these tokens.
