The post OCC Green-Lights Crypto Activities for Banks appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In recent months, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has signaled a more permissible regulatory stance towards national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks) engaging in crypto-asset activities. “I will continue to work diligently to ensure regulations are effective and not excessive, while maintaining a strong federal banking system,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood earlier this year. On March 7, the OCC began formalizing its shift away from its Biden-era approach to regulating banks’ crypto-asset activities with the issuance of Interpretive Letter 1183. Through this interpretive letter, the OCC rescinded its supervisory non-objection process for banks seeking to engage in crypto-asset activities, thereby removing significant red tape around banks’ abilities to do so. This interpretive letter also reaffirmed the OCC’s prior guidance permitting banks to engage in a range of crypto-asset activities. The OCC followed up on this action in May with Interpretive Letter 1184. In it, the OCC further confirmed that banks may engage in certain crypto-asset activities and addressed the roles third-party service providers—such as fintech companies—can play in those activities. The interpretive letter was generally supportive of third parties’ involvement in them. Key Takeaways: The OCC will no longer require banks to undergo a supervisory non-objection process (see definition below) before offering products and services relating to crypto assets to their customers. Banks regulated by the OCC can now offer crypto-asset products and services without needing to first demonstrate that they have adequate compliance processes in place. Removing this process significantly lowers the barriers to crypto-asset banking activities becoming more widespread. Supervisory expectations still apply, though. The OCC will likely still use supervisory exams to check whether banks have implemented strong controls to manage the risks associated with crypto-asset activities. The OCC also re-confirmed that banks can provide…

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Filed under: News - @ June 16, 2025 10:27 pm