The new rules were developed in line with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s recommendations to introduce banking standards for cryptoassets.
Specifically, the Basel Committee’s standards detail the prudential treatment of banks’ exposure to cryptoassets, including tokenized traditional assets, stablecoins and unsecured cryptoassets.
In addition, cryptocurrencies are categorized as the riskiest assets for federally regulated financial institutions. For example, unsecured cryptoassets and stablecoins with ineffective liquidity support mechanisms would be subject to a conservative prudential regime.
OSFI’s draft guidelines will remain open for public consultation until September 30, 2023.
The Canadian government previously required all federally regulated pension funds to disclose information to OSFI about the amount of cryptoassets held on their balance sheets.