The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reaffirm what cryptocurrency activities are permissible in the federal banking system recently.
In its Interpretive Letter 1183, the OCC confirmed that crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities and participation in independent node verification network are permissible for national banks and federal savings associations. The letter also rescinded the requirement for ICC-supervised institutions to attain supervisory nonobjection and to demonstrate they have adequate controls in place before they engage in those activities.
“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,” Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood said. “Today’s action will reduce the burden on banks to engage in crypto-related activities and ensure that these bank activities are treated consistently by the OCC, regardless of the underlying technology. I will continue to work diligently to ensure regulations are effective and not excessive, while maintaining a strong federal banking system.”
The OCC also withdrew its participation in the joint statement on the risks crypt-assets pose to banking organizations and the joint statement on liquidity risks to crypto-asset markets pose to banking organizations.
The American Bankers Association supported OCC’s position.
“We applaud the OCC’s release of Interpretive Letter 1183 confirming the permissibility of national banks to provide key products and services in the digital asset market and removing the requirement for national banks to obtain supervisory non-objection before engaging in these activities,” Rob Nichols, president and CEO of ABA said. “ABA has strongly advocated that these misguided policies, which created an atypical standard for many product and technology implementations, be rescinded. Banks have a critical role to play in the digital asset ecosystem, which has the potential to be a catalyst for change in traditional financial markets, and the OCC’s actions today are an important step toward enabling that success.”