Overview

• Eight trade bodies, including the Institute of International Finance, Global Financial Markets Association, International Swaps and Derivatives Association and Global Blockchain Business Council, asked the Basel Committee to temporarily pause and reassess standards set to take effect in January 2026.
• The groups argue punitive capital treatments—such as risk weightings up to 1,250% and a roughly 1% cap on banks’ “Group 2” crypto exposures—would make meaningful participation uneconomical.
• Their letter challenges the harsher treatment of assets on permissionless blockchains compared with permissioned systems and calls for updated evidence on distributed-ledger use cases.
• U.S. policy shifts are central to the appeal, with industry citing recent domestic moves as reasons to recalibrate, and Federal Reserve vice chair for supervision Michelle Bowman declining to commit to the Basel timeline.
• The Basel Committee offered no immediate comment, and the coalition warns the current approach could push activity outside regulated banks and fragment implementation across jurisdictions.