§5901 Definitions

Summary

Lists the words and short meanings used in the chapter about payment stablecoins and related rules. The appropriate Federal banking agency is the meaning given in section 1813 of this title. The Bank Secrecy Act covers three statutes: section 1829b, chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508 (12 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.), and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31. Board means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Comptroller means the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Corporation means the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. A digital asset is any digital representation of value recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. A digital asset service provider is a person who, for pay, does business in the U.S. exchanging, transferring, custodying, or otherwise providing financial services for digital assets, but it does not include distributed ledger protocols, self‑custodial software, validators, or liquidity‑pool participants. A distributed ledger is shared network technology that keeps a public, cryptographically linked record of transactions. A distributed ledger protocol is publicly available software on a distributed ledger, including smart contracts. Federal branch has the meaning given in section 1813 of this title. A Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer is either a nonbank approved by the Comptroller under section 5904, an uninsured national bank chartered under title LXII and approved under section 5904, or a Federal branch approved under section 5904. A foreign payment stablecoin issuer is an issuer formed or domiciled abroad or in a U.S. territory and not a permitted issuer. Institution‑affiliated party for a permitted issuer means its directors, officers, employees, or controlling stockholders. Insured credit union has the meaning in section 1752. Insured depository institution means the definition in section 1813 plus insured credit unions. A lawful order is a final, valid court or authorized federal agency order under federal law that requires seizing, freezing, burning, or blocking transfer of payment stablecoins, specifies the coins or accounts with reasonable particularity, and allows judicial or administrative review or appeal. Monetary value means a national currency or a deposit denominated in a national currency as defined in section 1813. Money means a medium of exchange authorized by a government or a monetary unit set by an intergovernmental agreement. National currency includes Federal Reserve notes (see section 411), money in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank, money from a foreign central bank, or money issued by an intergovernmental organization by agreement of two or more governments. Nonbank entity means a person that is not a depository institution or its subsidiary. Offer means to make available for purchase, sale, or exchange. A payment stablecoin is a digital asset meant for payment or settlement whose issuer promises to redeem it for a fixed amount of monetary value and represents it will keep a stable value relative to that fixed amount; it does not include a national currency, a deposit (including those on a ledger), or a security as defined in sections 77b, 78c, or 80a–2 of title 15, with the specific exception noted for bonds or notes issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer consistent with section 17 of this Act. A permitted payment stablecoin issuer is a U.S. person that is either a subsidiary of an insured depository institution approved under section 5904, a Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer, or a State qualified payment stablecoin issuer. Person means an individual or any kind of business or organization, incorporated or not. The primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator depends on the issuer type and is specified by category, including the appropriate Federal banking agency, the National Credit Union Administration, the Corporation, the Comptroller, or the Board. Registered public accounting firm has the meaning in section 7201 of title 15. The Stablecoin Certification Review Committee is the named committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury with the Chair of the Board (or the Vice Chair for Supervision) and the Chair of the Corporation as members, and it normally acts by a 2/3 vote or by unanimous written consent. State means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. State chartered depository institution has the meaning in section 1813(c). A State payment stablecoin regulator is the State agency with primary oversight of payment stablecoin issuers. A State qualified payment stablecoin issuer is an entity formed under State law and approved by that State regulator that is not an uninsured national bank, Federal branch, insured depository institution, or their subsidiary. Subsidiary has the meaning in section 1813. For an insured credit union, a subsidiary means certain service organizations, credit union service organizations under part 712 of title 12, or a State‑law subsidiary of a State chartered insured credit union.