Biden administration wants stablecoin issuers to be regulated as banks - WSJ

The Biden administration seeks to impose tight bank-like regulations on issuers of stablecoins like Tether (USDT-USD) to avoid financial panics, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people with knowledge on the matter. Stablecoins are digital currencies pegged to a sovereign currency such as the U.S. dollar or the Japanese yen, and are backed by collateral assets including Treasury securities. The administration is expected to urge Congress to consider legislation to create a special-purpose charter for stablecoin issuers, in addition to a series of investor protections, people familiar with the matter say. The WSJ notes that a Treasury-led group plans to recommend that the Financial Stability Oversight Council consider whether to designate stablecoin activities as systemically important, the people said; though the FSOC route isn't the Biden administration's preferred way of doing things. The administration's proposals are expected to be included in an upcoming report from a group led by the