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Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins ActSection 16 › Proposal

The Act does not limit existing banking powers over digital assets

To provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins, and for other purposes, section 16, Sec. 16. Written by .

The Act does not limit existing banking powers over digital assets

The document says “may not be construedWho acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 16 in the PDF
What the document says

“Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of a depository institution, Federal credit union, State credit union, national bank, or trust company to engage in activities permissible pursuant to applicable State and Federal law, including-- (1) accepting or receiving deposits or shares (in the case of a credit union), and issuing digital assets that represent those deposits or shares”

To provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins, and for other purposes, Sec. 16

Subsection (a). Three activities are named: accepting or receiving deposits or shares and issuing digital assets that represent them, using a distributed ledger for the books and records of the entity and to effect intrabank transfers, and providing custodial services for payment stablecoins, private keys or reserves backing payment stablecoins. Section 2(22)(B)(ii) puts a deposit outside the definition of a payment stablecoin, including one recorded using distributed ledger technology.

What the document actually says

“Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of a depository institution, Federal credit union, State credit union, national bank, or trust company to engage in activities permissible pursuant to applicable State and Federal law, including-- (1) accepting or receiving deposits or shares (in the case of a credit union), and issuing digital assets that represent those deposits or shares”

To provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins, and for other purposes, Sec. 16
That sentence, in plain words

This law does not cut back what banks may already do. They may still take deposits. They may put out digital tokens that stand for those deposits.

What this is about

Two more powers are named. A bank may keep its books on a shared ledger. It may hold coins and keys for its customers.

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How to cite this
  1. The document itself

    Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, Public Law 119-27, sec. 16, 139 Stat. 461 (2025).
    https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm

  2. This page

    “The Act does not limit existing banking powers over digital assets,” Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, section 16, Sec. 16. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/guiding-establishing-national-innovation-u-s/proposal/sec16-existing-authority-preserved/ (retrieved August 26, 2026).

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