US CFTC Releases Crypto Asset Collateral Pilot Guidance: BTC/ETH Capital Adequacy Ratio 20%, Stablecoins 2%

Gate News reports that on March 22, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued detailed guidance on pilot programs using crypto assets as collateral. The regulator notified futures commission merchants (FCMs) that participating in the pilot must submit an notice to the Market Participants Department, indicating the start date for accepting crypto assets as margin.

Key points include: 1. Capital requirements specify that only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins can be accepted as collateral, with BTC/ETH calculated at a 20% capital adequacy ratio, and stablecoins at 2%. FCMs participating in the pilot can only accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins in the first three months; 2. Compliance and reporting obligations require FCMs to promptly report major cybersecurity or system issues and submit weekly reports on total crypto assets in customer accounts; 3. After three months, other crypto assets may be used as collateral, and some reporting requirements will be phased out; 4. Usage restrictions limit the deposit of only dedicated payment stablecoins into customer segregated accounts, and crypto assets cannot be used for uncleared swap collateral, though qualified tokenized assets may be substituted; 5. Derivatives clearing organizations that meet CFTC credit, market, and liquidity risk standards can accept crypto assets and stablecoins as initial margin for cleared trades.