§5901 Definitions

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter about digital assets and payment stablecoins. Appropriate Federal banking agency — same meaning as in section 1813. Bank Secrecy Act — refers to section 1829b, chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508, and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31. Board — Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Comptroller — Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Corporation — Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Digital asset — a digital record of value kept on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. Digital asset service provider — a person in the U.S. who, for pay, exchanges, transfers, holds custody of, or provides financial services for digital assets, but not protocols, certain software developers, validators, immutable self-custodial interfaces, or liquidity-pool participants. Distributed ledger — networked technology that keeps a shared, cryptographically linked digital record of transactions. Distributed ledger protocol — publicly available software deployed on a distributed ledger, including smart contracts. Federal branch — same meaning as in section 1813. Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer — a nonbank approved by the Comptroller under section 5904, an uninsured national bank chartered by the Comptroller and approved under section 5904, or a Federal branch approved under section 5904. Foreign payment stablecoin issuer — an issuer organized or domiciled outside the U.S. or in a U.S. territory and not a permitted issuer. Institution-affiliated party — for a permitted issuer, a director, officer, employee, or controlling stockholder. Insured credit union — same meaning as in section 1752. Insured depository institution — includes the section 1813 definition plus insured credit unions. Lawful order — a final federal court or agency order that requires seizing, freezing, or blocking a person’s payment stablecoins, names the coins or accounts clearly, and 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, including units set by intergovernmental agreements. National currency — includes Federal Reserve notes; money credited at a Federal Reserve Bank; money issued by a foreign central bank; and money issued by an intergovernmental organization under agreement by 2 or more governments. Nonbank entity — someone who is not a depository institution or its subsidiary. Offer — to make available for purchase, sale, or exchange. Payment stablecoin — a digital asset meant for payment whose issuer must redeem or convert it for a fixed amount of monetary value and that is represented to keep a stable value; it does not include national currency, deposits, or securities (with a specific exception for certain instruments issued by permitted issuers). Permitted payment stablecoin issuer — a U.S.-formed entity that is either a subsidiary of an insured depository institution approved under section 5904, a Federal qualified issuer, or a State qualified issuer. Person — individual or business entity. Primary Federal payment stablecoin regulator — the listed federal agency that has primary oversight depending on the type of issuer (e.g., appropriate banking agency, NCUA, FDIC/Comptroller/Board, or Comptroller for Federal qualified issuers). Registered public accounting firm — same meaning as in section 7201 of title 15. Stablecoin Certification Review Committee — a committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury with specified members, acting by a 2/3 vote at meetings called by the Chair or by unanimous written consent. State — each State, the District of Columbia, and each U.S. territory. State chartered depository institution — same as “State depository institution” in section 1813(c). State payment stablecoin regulator — the State agency with primary authority over payment stablecoin issuers. State qualified payment stablecoin issuer — a State-law entity approved by its State regulator and not an uninsured national bank, Federal branch, insured depository institution, or their subsidiaries. Subsidiary — same meaning as in section 1813. Subsidiary of an insured credit union — certain service organizations, credit union service organizations, or State-authorized subsidiaries described under the credit union rules.