How SC60 affects digital asset capital treatment: factsheet

How could SC60 change the capital treatment of digital assets for firms building tokenised networks?

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SC60 links digital asset network design directly to capital treatment, creating a clearer regulatory dividing line for banks and market participants. This factsheet examines the potential impact of 1250% risk-weighted asset provisions, current levels of market awareness and the operational questions firms need to address.

SC60 capital shock

Regulation

SC60 directly links digital asset network design to regulatory capital requirements — making design decisions a capital issue.

Firms building digital asset networks today are already making choices that will determine their SC60 exposure.

Rights equivalence confidence

Compliance

SC60 tests whether digital assets behave like their traditional counterparts, with rights equivalence treated as a compliance requirement rather than a design choice.

Confidence is high, but the regulatory test is likely to be more demanding than self-assessment.

Pegging mechanism resilience

Risk

SC60 places particular emphasis on pegging strength — and only half the market believes current mechanisms are robust enough.

The other half carries meaningful exposure if stress scenarios are used to test regulatory capital treatment.

SC60 could materially change how digital assets are treated from a capital perspective. For firms building or using tokenised asset networks, the question is no longer only about innovation or connectivity. It is about whether design decisions could trigger a significantly higher regulatory capital burden.

How exposed are firms to the new SC60 framework? Where are the main uncertainties around rights, control and the resilience of digital asset structures?

The factsheet examines how the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)'s SC60 framework affects digital asset models and where firms may face the greatest regulatory and capital impact. It explores awareness levels across the market, the importance of legal and economic equivalence, and how network design choices may influence risk-weighted asset treatment.

The research highlights:

If applied today, SC60 would have a shock effect on the digital asset industry, with up to 69% of firms' digital assets requiring 1250% risk-weighted asset provisions