Conner Brown

FYI This morning the Federal Reserve will release a proposal for revisions to the Basel risk weighting standards. Bitcoin is currently treated as a toxic asset under the Basel standards. A change in the guidance would be a big win for American Bitcoiners. BPI will be in attendance at today’s meeting. We’ll keep you updated on text of the proposal and next steps.

🚨BPI has just learned of an amendment buried in Kentucky HB 380 that would require hardware wallet providers to reset users' seed phrases on request. This would effectively outlaw self-custody in Kentucky. BPI is sending a letter to the Kentucky Senate informing them of the harmfulness of this language. Section 33 was added as a last-minute floor amendment to a 77-page virtual currency kiosk regulation bill. The underlying bill has political support and is expected to move through the Senate for final passage, possibly within the next week. The mandate is technologically impossible for non-custodial wallets. Hardware wallets are specifically designed so that no one — including the manufacturer — can access or recover a user's seed phrase. Requiring a backdoor for seed phrase recovery breaks Bitcoin's fundamental security guarantees and pushes users toward centralized custodians that are vulnerable to hacks and failures. Kentucky legislators should be protecting their constituents' right to secure their own property. We urge the Senate to strip this provision before the bill reaches a vote. Relevant text below

FYI This morning the Federal Reserve will release a proposal for revisions to the Basel risk weighting standards. Bitcoin is currently treated as a toxic asset under the Basel standards. A change in the guidance would be a big win for American Bitcoiners. BPI will be in attendance at today’s meeting. We’ll keep you updated on text of the proposal and next steps.

WASHINGTON, DC - Bitcoin is quickly emerging as a strategic resource that great powers seek to accumulate, exploit and contest. Below is a new State of Play from BPI where we review the last six months in U.S. - China competition for Bitcoin and what to watch on Capitol Hill in the months ahead. We'll continue to update you as the competition unfolds.

WASHINGTON D.C. - Bitcoin Policy Institute releases the following brief on the latest legislative developments on a De Minimis exemption for Bitcoin transactions. We will continue to keep you informed as discussions develop.

Important Bitcoin Policy Update from D.C. 🇺🇸 The Federal Reserve just announced that next week they will be issuing a public proposal for how Banks should implement Basel risk weighting guidance for America’s largest banks. Bitcoin is currently treated as a toxic asset under Basel regulations, subject to a 1250% risk weighting, harsher than virtually all other asset classes. This risk weighting makes it extremely difficult for banks to provide financial services to Bitcoiners and Bitcoin companies. Once the Federal Reserve’s proposal is live, there will be a 90 day window to provide comments on the proposal. BPI will be reviewing this proposal closely and submitting a public comment to ensure that U.S. regulators get Bitcoin’s treatment right.

This is extremely concerning if true. I can confirm that over the past three months there’s been a strong shift on the Hill to limiting the de minimis exemption to stablecoins only. BPI continues to meet with lawmakers to explain what a strategic blunder this would be for the U.S. We’ve spent years on this issue—we can’t let it slip at the last minute.