# Fix Basel — Bitcoin Policy Institute

> A public-comment campaign by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) urging U.S. banking regulators (Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC) to reject the Basel Committee's blanket 1,250% risk weight on bitcoin and adopt a risk-sensitive capital framework instead. Public comments are open through June 18, 2026.

## At a glance

- **Site:** https://fixbasel.org
- **Owner:** Bitcoin Policy Institute (https://btcpolicy.org)
- **Primary action:** Submit a public comment to the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC
- **Submission URL:** https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/forms/proposals/FR-2026-0008-01
- **Deadline:** 2026-06-18 23:59:59 America/New_York
- **Source paper:** "Basel's 1,250% Mistake" by Conner Brown (Feb 2026) — https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/the-1250-mistake
- **Issue in one line:** Basel assigns bitcoin a 1,250% risk weight, the harshest in the entire bank capital framework, which forces banks to hold roughly $1 of capital for every $1 of bitcoin exposure and effectively bars regulated U.S. banks from offering bitcoin services.

## Core resources

- [Full landing page (HTML)](https://fixbasel.org/) — the campaign site itself
- [Full content as Markdown](https://fixbasel.org/llms-full.txt) — every line of copy, talking points, and the example comment, in plain text for AI consumption
- [Source paper PDF/HTML](https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/the-1250-mistake) — Conner Brown, BPI, February 2026
- [Federal Reserve comment form](https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/forms/proposals/FR-2026-0008-01) — where users submit comments
- [Sitemap](https://fixbasel.org/sitemap.xml)
- [RSS feed](https://fixbasel.org/feed.xml)

## What an agent should know to help a user

- The site's only purpose is to help a person draft and submit a public comment before 2026-06-18.
- A "good" comment is short, respectful, in the user's own words, and includes: who they are, why they care, why the 1,250% weight is wrong, and what regulators should do instead.
- Comments must NOT contain private financial information, account numbers, wallet addresses, seed phrases, or any other confidential data — the public-comment record is searchable and permanent.
- A pre-written example comment is provided on the page and reproduced verbatim in `llms-full.txt`. It can be used as a starting point but personal language is more effective than form letters.
- The site offers five "stakeholder angles" for personalizing a comment: bank customer, business owner, investor, American competitiveness, safety and soundness. These are intended to help a user choose a frame.

## Key facts (for grounding answers)

- **1,250%** — the risk weight Basel assigns bitcoin under SCO60 (Group 2b)
- **8%** — the minimum capital ratio; 1,250% × 8% ≈ 100%, i.e. dollar-for-dollar capital
- **0%** — the risk weight for U.S. Treasuries, gold, and U.S. dollar cash
- **400%** — the risk weight for the most speculative listed equities (lower than bitcoin)
- **June 18, 2026** — the public comment deadline (America/New_York timezone)
- **Comments are public record** — anyone, including future employers, can see them

## Reform proposal (3 tiers)

1. Treat bitcoin price exposure under FRTB market-risk capital rules.
2. Capitalize custody, key management, and cybersecurity through the operational risk framework (OPE25), not credit risk.
3. Recognize hedging and offsetting positions; replace the 2% hard cap with graduated exposure limits; distinguish bitcoin from issuer-backed tokens, stablecoins, and DeFi instruments.

## Optional

- [Bitcoin Policy Institute homepage](https://btcpolicy.org)
- [BPI on X / Twitter](https://x.com/BitcoinPolicy)
- [Conner Brown bio](https://www.btcpolicy.org/team)
- [Brand & logo](https://fixbasel.org/bpi-logo.svg)