(Reuters) – The Biden administration is looking into ways to impose bank-like regulation on companies that issue stablecoins, including asking them to register as banks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-seeks-to-regulate-stablecoin-issuers-as-banks-11633103156?mod=latest_headlines, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to reports, the administration will also push Congress for a bill to establish a special-purpose chart. This would allow them to tailor their business model to such companies.

Stablecoins can be described as a digital form of currency, which is pegged to other currencies.

An increase in the number of private currencies has prompted regulators to take steps to curb cryptocurrency use. They fear that this could result in higher systemic risks and financial crime.

President Joe Biden has already launched several efforts towards reigning in cryptocurrencies https://www.reuters.com/technology/how-us-regulators-are-cracking-down-cryptocurrencies-2021-09-24, including a working group of top financial regulators focused on stablecoins known as the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.

According to the report, a Treasury-led task force will recommend that stablecoin activities be classified as systemically significant to the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

The report said that recommendations from the Biden administration will likely be part of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets’ upcoming report, which could be released in October.