The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the regulatory body overseeing national banks, has recently shifted its position on the integration of cryptocurrency within the banking sector. The once-discouraging stance towards cryptocurrency is evolving, as evidenced by the issuance of interpretive letters confirming that banks can engage in purchasing and selling crypto assets on behalf of their customers.
The newly explained policy stance, released on Wednesday, further clarifies that banks can also outsource cryptocurrency-related activities to third parties, including custody and executive services. As long as these activities comply with the OCC’s established safety-and-soundness requirements, the agency is permitting banks greater latitude to operate in the cryptocurrency space.
This policy change follows a significant reversal made in March, where the OCC previously mandated banks to consult with their government supervisors prior to initiating new cryptocurrency-related ventures. Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, the general counsel of Starkware and former chief legal officer at Cboe Digital, emphasized on social media that these recent letters represent a noticeable shift in the OCC’s approach towards integrating cryptocurrency into traditional banking practices. The additional guidance permitting the use of third-party services is particularly advantageous for regulated cryptocurrency native service providers, according to Bos.
Read More: OCC Says Banks Can Engage in Crypto Custody and Certain Stablecoin Activities
