The American regulator supervising national banks gave clarification on Friday that banks regulated by the federal government can now engage in various cryptocurrency activities without the need for prior approval.
In his new letter of interpretation, the West said that national banks and federal savings associations are authorized to offer police custody services, to manage certain Stablecoin activities and to exploit nodes.
“The OUC expects the banks to have the same strong risk management controls to support new banking activities as for the most traditional,” said the acting controller Rodney E. Hood.
He pointed out that this decision will facilitate pressure on the banks involved in cryptographic activities and ensures that these activities are treated in a coherent manner by the OCC, whatever the technology used.
On Friday, the occurrence withdrawn the directives published during the administration of President Joe Biden, who had imposed additional requirements on banks wishing to engage in certain Crypto activities. The previous letters told Banks to have their supervisors inform cryptographic activities in advance, to explain how they would manage the risks and to obtain approval before carrying out cryptographic activities.
The OCC has also removed joint declarations from American regulators who had warned the banks not to engage with the crypto. A 2023 declaration did not prohibit crypto activities, but warned that the sector is very volatile and that all activities related to crypto-liaison by banks would be closely excessive.
The announcement came the same day that the White House organized a summit of cryptography, just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive decree creating a strategic reserve for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.