Regulating Stablecoins: Certain Stablecoins are Now Subject to the Texas Money Services Act
On January 2, the Texas Department of Banking (“DoB”) updated Supervisory Memorandum – 1037 (“Guidance”) which provides guidance regarding the application of the Texas Money Services Act (the “Act”) to virtual currencies. First issued on April 3, 2014, the Guidance divides virtual currency into two categories: centralized and decentralized.
Centralized virtual currencies are virtual currencies “created and issued by a specified source” that “rely on an entity with some form of authority or control over the currency”. Decentralized virtual currencies, on the other hand, are virtual currencies that do not have an administrator or a central repository.
Stablecoins are considered decentralized virtual currencies, provided they do not have an administrator or central repository. According to the Guidance, whether the Act applies to centralized virtual currencies requires a case-by-case determination. As for decentralized virtual currencies, the Guidance states that the Act only applies when sovereign currency is involved, and only in certain cases, because decentralized virtual currencies do not constitute money or monetary value.
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