OCC Makes Crypto Custody, Stablecoins “Permissible”

US regulators have opened the door for banks and savings associations to engage in digital asset activities including custody and staking, without having to ask for prior permission.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said on Friday that a range of activities associated with crypto would become “permissible in the federal banking system.”

The move comes as part of sweeping regulatory reforms in the US under the new administration, which has seen key hurdles that had been erected by the previous administration, such as SAB 121 disassembled or reversed.

On the same day that President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create digital asset strategic reserves, the OCC published Interpretive Letter 1183, announcing that banks and federal savings associations can engage in previously unauthorised activities, such as custody for crypto and stablecoin payments. The regulator also rescinded the requirement for companies regulated by the OCC to acquire supervisory non-objection before touching digital assets. Further, the OCC said banks can take part in node verification networks such as distributed ledger 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,” says acting comptroller of the currency Rodney Hood. “[This] 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 crypto-asset risks to banking organisations as well as the joint statement on liquidity risks to banking organisations resulting from crypto-asset market vulnerabilities.

The release came on the same day that the White House held its first ever crypto summit, gathering key industry executives as the administration lays the groundwork for President Trump’s promise to make the US the world’s leading jurisdiction for digital assets.