OCC Says Banks Can Handle Crypto for Customers—And Outsource It Too

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has given a nod to national U.S. banks it oversees, allowing them to buy, sell, and manage crypto assets under their custody.National banks may do so at their customers’ direction and are permitted to outsource crypto custody and execution services, an interpretive letter, issued Wednesday by Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood, reads.The OCC’s affirmation follows coordinated action across regulatory agencies, signaling a broader recalibration of the Trump administration’s approach to digital assets.Two weeks ago, the With its new directive, the OCC builds on Banks could offer and provide “cryptocurrency custody services, including holding the unique cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency,” the OCC wrote at the time, characterizing such activities as “a modern form” of traditional banking.But that early openness was later tempered in 2021 and 2022, under a new administration, the OCC—alongside the Federal Reserve and FDIC—issued guidance requiring banks to obtain written supervisory non-objection before engaging in crypto-related activities, effectively stalling institutional adoption. That policy has now been reversed with the OCC’s latest guidance.It comes as some traditional banks The OCC’s latest affirmation, meanwhile, follows At the time, the OCC tagged those three sections as “crypto-asset activities” and noted that banks could develop and engage with them, as long as they are “consistent with sound risk management practices.”Later that month, FDIC Edited by