CFTC Expands Stablecoin Collateral Guidance to Include National Trust Banks

The move provides additional regulatory clarity for futures intermediaries and stablecoin issuers at a time when legislative negotiations remain unresolved and federal agencies are moving ahead with implementation through supervisory guidance.

The CFTC’s Market Participants Division said in a 6 Feb statement it had reissued Staff Letter 25-40 with a revised definition of a payment stablecoin. The update confirms that national trust banks are permitted issuers under the agency’s no-action position.

Updated collateral definition and regulatory scope

The letter was first issued in December 2025 and set out a position in which the regulator wouldn't take any action against merchants that take orders for buying or selling futures contracts (Futures Commission Merchants) where they accept certain non-securities digital assets, including payment stablecoins, as customer margin collateral and hold proprietary stablecoins in segregated accounts.

The original definition focused on stablecoins issued by regulated entities but did not explicitly reference national trust banks. The CFTC said staff later determined that the omission was unintentional, given the role of trust banks in issuing and custodying stablecoins.

Under the revised guidance, payment stablecoins issued by national trust banks fall within the scope of eligible tokenized collateral covered by the no-action relief. The agency said this aligns with existing supervisory frameworks governing trust bank activities.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig said national trust banks authorized by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) play an important role in the payment stablecoin ecosystem and should be included within the eligible collateral framework.

Agency coordination amid market structure uncertainty

The clarification comes as Congress continues to debate a comprehensive digital asset market structure bill that would expand the CFTC’s authority over certain crypto markets. The legislation has advanced through committee on party lines but remains stalled amid disputes over ethics provisions and jurisdiction.

In parallel, the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have moved to coordinate regulatory oversight through joint initiatives, signalling that agencies are proceeding with rulemaking and guidance despite legislative uncertainty.

Recent statements from regulators have focused on stablecoins, custody and settlement as priority areas where operational clarity is needed to support onchain markets and institutional participation.

By expanding the definition of eligible stablecoin issuers to include national trust banks, the CFTC provides additional certainty to intermediaries navigating margin, custody and collateral rules while broader statutory questions remain unresolved.