The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) today announced that the IBAT DTX Consortium has surpassed the milestone of 40 bank participants — a number that now includes institutions headquartered outside of the state of Texas.
The Consortium is currently undertaking a pilot program for tokenized deposit and stablecoin utilization through a community banker-owned and -controlled initiative, representing a significant step forward in IBAT’s national leadership on digital asset strategy for community financial institutions.
Formal Regulatory Request Submitted
As IBAT DTX advances this initiative with a compliance-first approach, the Association today submitted a formal request to regulators seeking coordinated interagency action in three areas:
- Clarification of the model risk and operational risk framework as applied to tokenized deposit products;
- Establishment of community bank-specific, tiered supervisory requirements for digital asset activities; and
- Mandated open API access to deposit data from core banking service providers.
These requests were submitted with particular urgency in light of the GENIUS Act and the implementing regulations that will follow.
“Without a clear and proportionate supervisory framework in place before implementing regulations take effect, community banks risk being structurally displaced by larger institutions and nonbank digital asset participants who are already positioned to act. IBAT DTX exists to ensure that does not happen.” — Christopher Williston, CAE, President and CEO, IBAT
Technology Partner Selection Advancing
IBAT DTX has moved into the final stages of selecting its technology partners to facilitate the pilot program and expects to have a recommendation in place before the Consortium’s Advisory Council meeting in early June.
Consortium Membership Still Available
Consortium participation remains open to IBAT member banks, including those headquartered outside of Texas. While the window to join prior to the June governance meeting is closing quickly, membership will remain open to interested banks through at least the end of July. Contact Julie Courtney, President of IBAT Services Inc., at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the Consortium.
About the Independent Bankers Association of Texas
The Independent Bankers Association of Texas is the largest state association dedicated exclusively to community bank advocacy in Texas. IBAT serves member banks through advocacy, education and industry innovation initiatives, including the IBAT DTX Consortium — a community banker-owned and -controlled effort advancing responsible digital asset utilization for community financial institutions nationwide.
