• BTC treasury executives call for reform of 1,250% risk weight in Basel III Private equity, which has the second-highest risk weighting, carries a 400% weight under the current Basel III banking framework. • Cointelegraph in your social feed Crypto treasury executives are calling on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), an international banking regulatory body, to revise the 1,250% risk weight for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the Basel III framework. • The 1,250% capital requirement means that banks must back any Bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheets at a 1:1 ratio with approved collateral, making BTC holding more costly than other asset classes. • For comparison, cash, physical gold and government debt carry a 0% risk weight under the Basel III framework. • “If the US wants to be the ‘crypto capital’ of the world, the banking regulations need to change. • Risk is mispriced,” Jeff Walton, chief risk officer at Bitcoin treasury company Strive,wrote on X.
Article Summaries:
- Crypto treasury executives are urging the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) to lower the 1,250 % risk weight assigned to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under Basel III. The high capital requirement forces banks to hold BTC at a 1:1 collateral ratio, making crypto holdings costlier than cash, gold, or government debt, which carry a 0 % risk weight. Critics argue the rule suppresses crypto activity by reducing banks’ return on equity. The BCBS introduced the weighting in 2021, finalized it in 2024, and has faced growing backlash. In October 2025, the committee signaled it might adopt a “different approach,” and BCBS chair Erik Thédeen acknowledged the need to reconsider the current standard.
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