New York’s financial regulator issues guidelines for stablecoins

• The latest guidance calls for backing of all stablecoins traded in New York

The New York State Department of Financial Services on Wednesday released new rules for licensed cryptocurrency firms that issue stablecoins, calling for reserve requirements and monthly independent audits.

The latest guidance calls for backing of all stablecoins traded in New York, by certain assets. These assets should be segregated from the issuers’ operational funds and attested to by an auditor regularly.

The value of the stablecoins should be pegged to the dollar or other assets, and must be backed by a reserve composed of U.S. Treasury bills with no more than three months to maturity, U.S. Treasury notes, some types of U.S. Treasury bonds or reverse repurchase agreements that are collateralized by Treasury bills.