Share this article
EU Seals Deal on Crypto Bank-Capital Rules
Lawmakers have previously favored ‘prohibitive’ capital requirements to keep unbacked crypto assets out of the banking system
Updated Jun 27, 2023, 7:03 p.m. Published Jun 27, 2023, 6:46 a.m.
The European Union (EU) on Tuesday secured a political deal on new bank-capital legislation, including for cryptoassets, after lawmakers sought “prohibitive” rules to keep unbacked crypto out of the traditional financial system.
The deal was announced in a tweet from the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, after a meeting among representatives of the European Parliament, national governments and the European Commission, which had first proposed the new rules back in 2021.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The political deal, which also introduces sweeping and controversial changes to how banks assess the risk of corporate and home loans, must now be voted on by member states in the EU’s Council and by lawmakers to become legislation, a process that can in practice take many months.
The new rules, which also adjust the risk weighting for banking assets such as corporate loans, "boost the strength and resilience of banks operating in the Union," Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson, who chaired the talks on behalf of EU member states, said in a statement.
The Council statement also confirmed the deal includes a "transitional prudential regime for crypto assets," without providing further details.
International standard-setters at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are currently finalizing what a global crypto banking rulebook would look like – but details already out suggest they’ll take a tough line, assigning the maximum possible 1,250% risk weight to free-floating cryptocurrencies.
That would mean banks have to issue a euro of capital for each euro of bitcoin or ether they hold, giving them little incentive to buy into the market. EU parliamentarians appear keen to see those measures take effect sooner rather than later.
Under a compromise privately proposed by the European Commission late during the talks, that strict stance would be somewhat softened for regulated stablecoins – which appears to have found favor among EU governments, who must also agree before the bill becomes law.
UPDATE (June 27, 06:53 UTC): Updates lead paragraph to confirm crypto is included. Adds statement from Svantesson in fourth paragraph.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Iran accepts cryptocurrency as payment for advanced weapons
Prospective customers could purchase weapons such as missiles, tanks and drones using crypto, according to a government website.
What to know:
- Iran's Ministry of Defence Export Center is accepting cryptocurrency payments for advanced weapons systems as a means of bypassing international sanctions that the country faces.
- The offer is among the first known instances of a country accepting cryptocurrency as a means of payment for military equipment, according to the Financial Times.
- The facility for using cryptocurrency to pay for transactions involving sanctioned countries is already well established.
Top Stories
