FDIC FAQ on Capital Treatment of Tokenized Securities

FDIC Financial Institution Letters

Published March 5th, 2026

Detected March 12th, 2026

Summary

The FDIC, OCC, and Federal Reserve have issued an FAQ addressing the capital treatment of tokenized securities for FDIC-insured financial institutions. The guidance clarifies how ownership rights represented by distributed ledger technology are treated under existing capital rules and confirms the technology-neutral nature of these regulations.

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What changed

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System have jointly released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to provide clarity on the capital treatment of tokenized securities for all FDIC-insured financial institutions. The FAQ addresses how ownership rights in securities represented using distributed ledger technology (DLT) are assessed under current capital rules, whether such tokens qualify as financial collateral, and confirms that the capital framework is technology-neutral, meaning the specific blockchain technology used (permissioned or permissionless) does not alter the capital treatment.

This document is intended to provide guidance and does not introduce new regulatory requirements or deadlines. Financial institutions should review the FAQ to ensure their understanding of how tokenized securities are treated for capital adequacy purposes under existing regulations. While no immediate compliance actions are mandated beyond adhering to current capital rules, this FAQ serves to reinforce the existing framework's applicability to emerging technologies in the financial markets.

What to do next

Review the FDIC FAQ on the capital treatment of tokenized securities.

Source document (simplified)

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Capital Treatment of Tokenized Securities

Laws and Regulations March 5, 2026

Summary:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, (collectively, the agencies) are issuing answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) concerning the capital treatment of tokenized securities.

Statement of Applicability: The contents of, and material referenced in, this FIL apply to all FDIC-insured financial institutions.

Highlights:

A **** security is often referred to as “tokenized” when ownership rights in the security are represented using distributed ledger technology.
The agencies jointly issued the attached answers to commonly asked questions concerning the capital treatment of tokenized securities.
The FAQs provide clarity on the capital treatment for eligible tokenized securities and whether a tokenized security would qualify as financial collateral for purposes of the capital rule. The FAQs also clarify that the capital rule does not provide a different treatment based on the use of permissioned or permissionless blockchains.
The capital rule for banking organizations implemented by the agencies is technology neutral and technologies used to issue and transact in a security do not generally impact its capital treatment. FIL-5-2026 ## Attachment(s)

Regulatory Capital | FDIC.gov Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Capital Treatment of Tokenized Securities