The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued guidance permitting national banks to engage in cryptocurrency transactions as intermediaries without assuming market risk.
Under the clarification, banks may facilitate trades between clients without holding digital assets on their own balance sheets.
The decision represents a significant step toward integrating regulated cryptocurrency brokerage services into the mainstream banking system.
OCC Outlines How Banks Can Intermediate Crypto Trades
The interpretive letter, released Tuesday, explains that banks may execute a cryptocurrency transaction on behalf of one client while concurrently entering a corresponding trade with another. In effect, this approach mirrors the long-standing model used for riskless principal transactions in traditional markets.
Building on this explanation, the OCC notes that several applicants believe the framework could expand client access to digital assets. By enabling customers to transact through regulated institutions, the agency states that banks can offer an alternative to less-regulated cryptocurrency platforms.
Conditions and Risk Controls Required by Regulators
Additionally, the agency emphasizes that banks must ensure any crypto activity is legally permissible and consistent with their chartered authority. Institutions must also maintain systems to monitor compliance, operational pressures, and market exposure.
The letter highlights counterparty credit risk, especially during settlement, as the primary concern in these transactions. However, the OCC points out that banks routinely manage such risks and have established processes to handle them effectively.
Legal Basis for the Guidance
To support its interpretation, the OCC cites 12 U.S.C. § 24, which authorizes national banks to conduct riskless principal transactions as part of their core business activities.
Moreover, this foundation helps distinguish between digital assets that qualify as securities and those that do not. Indeed, riskless trades involving securities were already recognized as lawful under existing rules.
The agency emphasizes that the letter provides non-binding guidance intended to clarify the scope of activities permitted under current law rather than impose new regulatory obligations.
Comments From OCC Leadership
The guidance closely follows remarks by OCC head Jonathan Gould, delivered one day earlier. His comments reinforce the agency’s view that crypto firms seeking a federal charter should be evaluated on the same terms as traditional financial institutions.
Gould argued that the banking system is capable of adapting to emerging technologies. He added that this capacity is reinforced by the decades of experience banks have in providing electronic custody services.
Shift in Federal Approach to Digital Assets
The guidance comes amid a broader change in Washington’s approach to the sector. Industry groups had previously accused regulators under the Biden administration of subjecting banks that served crypto clients to heightened scrutiny. This approach has been widely referred to as “Operation Choke Point 2.0.”
By contrast, since President Donald Trump took office in January, the federal government has shown a more permissive stance toward digital assets, aligning with his pledge to support the industry.
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