The US OCC says banks can engage in some crypto activities, rescinding prior guidance that told them they should clear such activities with regulators first
The U.S. regulator overseeing national banks clarified Friday that banks can engage in some crypto activities …
It is an early step in a broader unwinding of bank-crypto preapproval barriers. Later coverage shows the FDIC adopted a similar risk-management framing and the Federal Reserve also withdrew its prior approval-oriented guidance.
First-order effects
National banks no longer have to obtain the prior clearance described in the rescinded OCC guidance before undertaking the covered crypto activities.
The OCC shifts the immediate burden onto banks to determine whether an activity is legally permissible and can be conducted safely, rather than using the prior clearance process as the initial gate.
Second-order effects
The change reduces an important source of regulatory friction for banks weighing crypto products and infrastructure, while making internal compliance and risk controls the central practical constraint.
It also sets a clearer path toward the aligned posture later taken by the FDIC and Federal Reserve, including the Fed's withdrawal of its crypto preapproval guidance, reducing the chance that a bank faces conflicting entry processes across federal supervisors.
Third-order effects
If supervisors sustain this approach, bank participation in crypto is more likely to be governed as a conventional safety-and-soundness question than as an activity requiring exceptional pre-clearance.
1/ Big news from the @USOCC: Just released today, Interpretive Letter 1183 reaffirms that national banks can engage in crypto custody, stablecoin activities, and more—without needing case-by-case approval. The OCC also pulled back from prior guidance that contributed to
Let it begin: the OCC rescinds “IL-1179,” which called on its supervised banks to receive supervisory nonobjection before engaging in crypto activities. Next up? — rescission of the equivalent letters from the FDIC (FIL-16-2022) and the Fed (SR 22-6).
Let's go! Banks using USDC. Coming soon to a blockchain near you. We are excited about wiring up the existing financial system to the new internet financial system. Circle Mint is open for business.
It is great to see the @USOCC issued new guidance that makes it easier for national banks to participate in the digital asset ecosystem while also pulling out of a joint statement by prudential regulators that led to mass debanking of crypto firms. This is a great sign that it
And now we have the biggest news of the day 📢 The OCC has clarified the activities banks can engage in with crypto. Stating that crypto custody and stablecoins are now allowed amongst other activities And rescinding the prior rules that enabled Operation Chokepoint. The [image]
AMID ALL THE JUBILATION ABOUT the OCC news, #OperationChokePoint2.0 isn't over until: 1. Fed & FDIC also rescind their anti-#crypto guidance, which is still in effect (Fed & FDIC were far more detrimental to crypto banking than OCC) & 2. @custodiabank has its Fed master account.
6/ Importantly, the administration is moving quickly to end the Biden-era debanking policies. Today, the OCC issued an interpretive letter confirming that “crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks such as
The OCC confirmed banks can handle crypto custody, stablecoins, and run nodes WITHOUT needing special approval first. This cuts red tape and is especially bullish for utility driven digital assets. 1/19🧵 [image]
$SOFI The OCC rescinded a portion of what prevents SoFi from relaunching their crypto platform. So can SoFi launch tomorrow? Not really, no, but this is still a big deal. It's a “rev your engines” moment, NOT a green light. Why do they need to wait? 1) There are other [image]
The OCC has cleared banks to engage in crypto-asset custody. That was a huge hurdle for $SOFI to start offering it again as a part of the platform. The post below details how much I think that would contribute to SoFi's revenue 👇
Stables bounced right back to near ATH w/ a $2B + week (~90th percentile flow). Land grab season approaching. With OCC news and stablecoin legislation by August (might be too conservative given apparent priority), won't be long before that's $2B/day.
🚨NEW: The OCC confirms that BANKS can now ALLOW crypto asset custody, stablecoins, and run their own nodes. Times are changing! Soon Mom and Dad will be able to look at their Bank of America account and see their Crypto holdings too! [image]
The OCC reaffirmed that crypto-asset custody, holding deposits that serve as reserves backing stablecoins, & the use of distributed ledger technology & stablecoins to facilitate permissible payments activities are permissible in the federal banking system. https://www.occ.gov/...…