§5901 Definitions

Summary

Lists the main words and short meanings used in the rules about payment stablecoins, digital assets, who may issue them, and who watches over them. Appropriate Federal banking agency — the banking agency named in another federal law. Bank Secrecy Act — three specific federal laws listed in the chapter. Board — the Federal Reserve Board. Comptroller — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Corporation — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Digital asset — a digital form of value recorded on a secure distributed ledger. Digital asset service provider — a person or business in the U.S. that, for pay, trades, transfers, holds, or provides financial services for digital assets; it does not include things like a ledger protocol, developers of protocols or self-custody software, immutable self-custody interfaces, validators that run a ledger, or participants in certain liquidity pools. Distributed ledger — a shared networked ledger that records verified transactions and uses cryptography to keep data linked and secure. Distributed ledger protocol — public software that runs on a distributed ledger, including smart contracts. Federal branch — the meaning given in another federal law. Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer — certain nonbank entities, uninsured national banks, or Federal branches approved by the Comptroller to issue payment stablecoins. Foreign payment stablecoin issuer — an issuer organized outside the U.S. or in U.S. territories that is not a permitted issuer. Institution-affiliated party — directors, officers, employees, or controlling owners of a permitted issuer. Insured credit union and insured depository institution — the usual federally insured credit unions and banks. Lawful order — a final valid court or federal agency order that requires seizing, freezing, destroying, or blocking transfer of specific payment stablecoins or accounts and that can be reviewed or appealed. Monetary value — a national currency or a deposit denominated in a national currency. Money — a government-authorized medium of exchange and certain intergovernmental monetary units. National currency — Federal Reserve notes, balances at a Federal Reserve Bank, money from a foreign central bank, or money from an intergovernmental organization. Nonbank entity — anyone who is not a bank or a bank subsidiary. Offer — make available to buy, sell, or trade. Payment stablecoin — a digital asset meant to be used for payment whose issuer must convert or redeem it for a fixed amount of monetary value and that claims or is expected to keep a stable value; it does not include a national currency, a deposit, or certain securities. Permitted payment stablecoin issuer — a U.S. entity that is a bank subsidiary, a Federal qualified issuer, or a State qualified issuer. Person — any individual or business entity. Primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator — the main federal regulator for each type of issuer, named by issuer type. Registered public accounting firm — the meaning given under federal securities law. Stablecoin Certification Review Committee — a committee chaired by the Treasury Secretary with the Fed Chair (or delegated Vice Chair for Supervision) and the FDIC Chair as members; it acts by a two‑thirds vote unless the chapter says otherwise. State and State chartered depository institution — the several States, D.C., and U.S. territories, and the state-chartered banks as defined elsewhere. State payment stablecoin regulator — the State agency that supervises payment stablecoin issuers. State qualified payment stablecoin issuer — an entity set up under State law and approved by the State regulator that is not certain national banks, Federal branches, or insured depository institutions. Subsidiary — the meaning given in another federal law. Subsidiary of an insured credit union — certain service organizations, credit union service organizations, or state-authorized subsidiaries that serve a credit union.