The U.S. regulator in charge of national banks underlined on Friday that banks are allowed to participate in certain cryptocurrency activities and dispelled the notion that companies need authorities’ prior consent to do so.
According to a statement from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, national banks are allowed to participate in distributed ledger networks, own crypto-assets, and conduct certain stablecoin operations.
The OCC also revoked its advice that banks should notify authorities of their cryptocurrency activities in advance, including demonstrating that they have sufficient controls in place for that type of transaction.
Laptops 1000The new guidance makes it clear that banks must have risk management in place regardless of technology, acting comptroller Rodney Hood said in a statement.
The statement was made just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a strategic reserve for Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies, and on the same day that the White House convened a crypto symposium.
Regardless of the underlying technology, Hood said in a statement,
“Today’s action will lessen the burden on banks to engage in crypto-related activities and ensure that these bank activities are treated consistently by the OCC.”
In particular, the OCC on Friday revoked bank guidance that was published during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
This guidance imposed further restrictions on banks that wanted to participate in cryptocurrency activities.
The revoked letters instructed banks to inform their supervisors about cryptocurrency activity in advance, demonstrate their risk management procedures, and ensure the supervisor was on board.
Additionally, the OCC retracted the joint remarks that U.S. regulators had previously released, which essentially warned banks against dealing with cryptocurrency.
Although it does not forbid banks from engaging in cryptocurrency operations, one such statement from 2023 cautioned that the industry is subject to “significant volatility” and that any bank activity would be rigorously examined.
