The US CFTC officially allows national trust banks to issue US dollar stablecoins, expanding the stablecoin regulatory framework.

U.S. CFTC Revises Rules to Include National Trust Banks as Qualified Issuers of Stablecoins and Allows Stablecoins as Futures Margin, Accelerating Market Institutionalization.
(Background: Visa and Mastercard dismiss the idea: Stablecoins are unlikely to disrupt daily payments in the short term; existing systems are already convenient enough.)
(Additional context: The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates approves USDU, a USD stablecoin, marking the first regulated settlement token compliant with regulatory frameworks.)

Table of Contents

• Filling Regulatory Gaps: National Trust Banks Officially Enter the Market
• Definition of National Trust Banks
• How Do They Differ from Commercial Banks?
• Provisions of the 《GENIUS Act》

On February 6, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a revised staff letter officially including “National Trust Banks” in the list of qualified issuers of USD stablecoins.

This decision, based on the 《GENIUS Act》 promoted by the Trump administration in 2025, signifies that stablecoins are transitioning from fringe trading tools to officially regulated payment instruments that can serve as futures collateral.

Filling Regulatory Gaps: National Trust Banks Officially Enter the Market

According to the CFTC announcement, this revision addresses the omission of federally chartered banks in the guidance issued at the end of 2025. With this update, National Trust Banks will stand on equal footing with private stablecoin issuers like Circle and Paxos, marking the beginning of the “banking” era for stablecoins.

More importantly, futures commission merchants (FCMs) can now accept stablecoins issued by these banks as collateral for regulated futures markets, enhancing stablecoins’ usability in regulated derivatives markets.

Definition of National Trust Banks

A National Trust Bank is a trust bank established under U.S. federal law and approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). These banks are federally chartered financial institutions under the National Bank Act, primarily engaged in trust and fiduciary services rather than full-service commercial banking activities like accepting deposits and issuing loans.

Main Activities: Asset custody, trust management, fiduciary services, etc. In the crypto space, some digital asset companies have obtained federal banking licenses through this route. For example, Anchorage Digital is an institution licensed as a National Trust Bank by the OCC.

How Do They Differ from Commercial Banks?

While both National Trust Banks and National Commercial Banks are regulated by the OCC, their regulatory levels and requirements differ significantly:

The key difference is that most National Trust Banks are not required to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This makes them particularly attractive to crypto and payments companies, as they can operate custody and trust services at the federal level under a single regulator (OCC), without needing to obtain over 50 state money transmission licenses or be subject to deposit insurance and bank holding company laws like full-service commercial banks.

In short, National Trust Banks have lower regulatory barriers but still maintain federal-level rigor, serving as a middle ground between fintech companies that are unregulated banks and full-fledged commercial banks.

Provisions of the 《GENIUS Act》

Under the 《GENIUS Act》 framework, stablecoin issuers must meet the following strict requirements:

100% Reserve Mechanism: Issuers must hold 100% high-liquidity assets, including USD, short-term government bonds, or government securities funds, ensuring holders can always redeem 1:1 for USD and preventing de-pegging events.

Transparency Requirements: Issuers must publish monthly public disclosure reports and undergo independent audits of reserve composition.

Clear Asset Classification: These “payment stablecoins” are explicitly classified as neither securities nor commodities, reducing legal uncertainties.