Basel crypto standard: capital rules for banks

The SCO60 chapter sorts cryptoassets into four groups. Group 1a holds tokenized traditional assets that meet the classification conditions; Group 1b holds cryptoassets with effective stabilization mechanisms, such as qualifying stablecoins. Group 1 exposures follow the capital rules of the underlying exposures, and supervisors may add a charge for weaknesses in the blockchain infrastructure, an add-on that starts at zero.

Everything that fails the classification conditions falls into Group 2. Group 2a covers cryptoassets that pass the hedging recognition criteria. Group 2b covers all others, bitcoin held without such hedging among them, with a risk weight of 1,250 percent on the greater of the long and short positions: the bank holds capital equal to the exposure.

A bank's total Group 2 exposure should generally stay below 1 percent of its Tier 1 capital and must not exceed 2 percent. Above 1 percent, the excess gets the Group 2b treatment; above 2 percent, all Group 2 exposures do, according to SCO60.

On July 17, 2024 the Committee published targeted amendments that tighten the criteria for stablecoins to receive the preferential Group 1b treatment, together with a disclosure framework for cryptoasset exposures; both apply from January 1, 2026. In November 2025 the Committee agreed to speed up a review of elements of the standard, citing recent market developments, as Investment Executive reported. For banks that pay or settle with stablecoins, the Group 1b test decides the capital cost.

In the EU, the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR3) contains a transitional regime in Article 501d. Freshfields sums it up: tokenized traditional assets, e-money tokens included, count as the assets they represent; asset-referenced tokens get a 250 percent risk weight; other crypto-assets such as bitcoin get 1,250 percent and may not exceed 1 percent of Tier 1 capital. The EBA published final draft technical standards on calculating these exposures on August 5, 2025.

German banks report under these rules to the ECB or to BaFin and the Bundesbank, depending on their size; the pages on ECB banking supervision and Basel III in Germany describe the supervisory setup.

Finance Loop's crypto compliance training page covers the courses for compliance staff, and custody and MiCAR compliance were topics of the Forum für Digitale Vermögenswerte, where Finance Loop was a partner.

The Basel Committee's rule on bank capital for cryptoasset exposures, chapter SCO60 of the Basel Framework, with an implementation date of January 1, 2026.

Bitcoin held without recognized hedging is a Group 2b cryptoasset with a 1,250 percent risk weight. The EU transitional rules give other crypto-assets such as bitcoin the same weight.

Under Basel, total Group 2 exposure should generally stay below 1 percent of Tier 1 capital and must not exceed 2 percent. In the EU, exposures to other crypto-assets may not exceed 1 percent of Tier 1 capital.