WASHINGTON — The Defense Credit Union Council is urging Congress to ensure pending digital asset legislation gives credit unions the same ability as banks to offer digital asset products and services, arguing that millions of members, including military families and veterans, should not be excluded from emerging financial technologies.
In a letter to House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and Ranking Member Stephen F. Lynch, D-Mass., the council outlined its recommendations ahead of the panel’s July 17 field hearing in New York, “Building the Future of Finance: How the CLARITY Act Unlocks Innovation.” The letter was submitted for inclusion in the hearing record, according to DCUC.
DCUC, which represents more than 200 defense-affiliated credit unions serving more than 40 million members worldwide, said the final Digital Asset Market Clarity Act should create a “safe, workable and competitively neutral” framework allowing credit unions to provide lawful digital asset services.
‘Opportunity to Establish Rules’
“Congress has an opportunity to establish rules that protect consumers while preserving competition, choice, and responsible innovation,” DCUC President and CEO Anthony Hernandez said in a statement. “The future of finance cannot be reserved for the largest banks and technology platforms.”
According to DCUC, the Senate-approved version of H.R. 3633 would authorize federal credit unions to use digital assets and distributed ledger technology to provide services they are otherwise permitted to offer, while extending similar treatment to federally insured state-chartered credit unions subject to state law.
Authority for Services
The organization said the legislation should preserve authority for credit unions to provide services that include:
- Digital asset custody and safekeeping.
- Staking-related services.
- Digital asset lending facilitation.
- Loans secured by digital assets.
- Digital payments and settlement services.
- Distributed ledger node operation.
- Self-custodial wallet software.
- Brokerage and execution services.
- Customer-directed secondary market transactions.
DCUC also asked lawmakers to strengthen the legislation by:
- Explicitly recognizing the National Credit Union Administration as the primary federal prudential regulator for federally insured credit unions.
- Allowing credit union service organizations (CUSOs) to participate in digital asset activities under appropriate oversight.
- Establishing custody, cybersecurity and consumer protection standards, including disclosures that digital assets are not federally insured shares.
- Adopting risk-based compliance requirements and providing an 18- to 24-month implementation period after final regulations are issued.
- Ensuring credit unions receive equal access to digital payment and settlement infrastructure.
- Allowing eligible credit unions and CUSOs to participate in payment stablecoin activities under NCUA supervision while maintaining safeguards against treating stablecoins as deposit substitutes.
‘Access in Practice’ Needed
“Permission on paper must become access in practice,” DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak said in a statement. “Credit unions are not asking for preferential treatment. We are asking Congress to ensure genuine regulatory parity.”
The organization also argued that expanded digital financial services are particularly important for military personnel, veterans and their families, who are often deployed or live far from physical branches. According to DCUC, secure digital payment and settlement services can improve financial access while allowing defense credit unions to continue providing fraud prevention, financial education and member support.
DCUC said it will continue working with Congress, the NCUA, state regulators and other federal agencies on legislation intended to promote responsible innovation while ensuring regulatory parity for credit unions.
