Federally regulated banks can have interaction in a spread of cryptocurrency actions with out prior approval, The Workplace of the Comptroller of the Forex (OCC) mentioned, in a brand new interpretive letter and assertion.
In a brand new interpretive letter, the OCC clarified that nationwide banks and federal financial savings associations can legally present crypto custody, conduct sure stablecoin-related actions, and run nodes.
“The OCC expects banks to have the same strong risk management controls in place to support novel bank activities as they do for traditional ones,” mentioned Performing Comptroller of the Forex Rodney E. Hood.
“At the moment’s motion will scale back the burden on banks to have interaction in crypto-related actions and be certain that these financial institution actions are handled persistently by the OCC, whatever the underlying expertise.”
As a part of this new interpretive letter, the OCC withdrew a press release it made in 2023 on liquidity dangers for banks from crypto, suggesting a rollback of prior considerations concerning the trade’s impression on monetary stability.
