Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce PACE Act Opening Fed Payment Rails to Crypto

US PACE Act would open Fed payment rails to qualified crypto and fintech firms

US Reps. Young Kim and Sam Liccardo introduced the bipartisan PACE Act to create a national payments license and streamline access to federal payment services for eligible providers. The goal: faster, cheaper transfers for consumers and small businesses (bill text).

What’s in the bill:

• Creates a national payments license and a streamlined federal registration process for qualified payment companies, including crypto firms (bill text).
• Grants approved firms direct access to Federal Reserve payment services with oversight and enforcement mechanisms (bill text).
• Aligns nonbank access with “skinny master accounts,” a model Fed Governor Christopher Waller has discussed; Kraken obtained such access earlier this year, per reporting (Eleanor Terrett).
• Shifts final approval authority for skinny master account applications to the Federal Reserve Board from individual Reserve Banks (Eleanor Terrett).
• Backed by industry groups including the Financial Technology Association, Blockchain Association, Digital Chamber, and Crypto Council for Innovation (bill materials).

For crypto payments players, the measure outlines a clearer federal path to settlement access and licensing. If enacted, it could reduce reliance on state-by-state money transmitter regimes and lower transfer costs via direct Fed connectivity (bill text; reporting).