The Federal Reserve will launch a 90-day consultation period for Basel III proposals, and Bitcoin faces a 1250% risk weight.

PANews reported on March 13th, citing Bitcoin.com, that Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve, stated that U.S. regulators will submit rule proposals for implementing the final phase of Basel III in the coming weeks, expected to be released during the week of March 17-21, followed by a 90-day public comment period. The proposals were coordinated by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Under the Basel Committee's finalized global crypto framework in 2022, Bitcoin is classified as a Group 2b asset deemed difficult to hedge and inherently volatile by regulators, facing a risk weight of 1250%. This means that a bank holding $100 million in Bitcoin exposure would be considered a $1.25 billion risk-weighted asset, requiring approximately $100 million in capital for such exposure.

Compared to the zero-risk weighting of cash, gold, and US Treasury bonds, and the 20%-100% range for corporate loans, Bitcoin's capital treatment is extremely stringent. Crypto industry institutions have criticized the framework for misclassifying Bitcoin and preventing banks from providing related services.