Banks Can Now Tango With Crypto—OCC Drops a Regulatory Bombshell

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O, green beacon for bankers! With regulatory muses aloft, U.S. banks awaken once more, fresh from OCC’s bureaucratic embrace, invited to waltz amid digital assets and innovation. Is this progress or chaos—who can say? At least now, there are memos. 🚦💼

Fresh Occultic Scrolls: OCC Lets Banks Fumble With Crypto

On the seventh day of May, as rain lashed the Potomac, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with interpretive pens aloft, summoned Letter 1184 into existence. This most recent parchment dusts off the antiquated busts of regulation, confirming that America’s banks—those solemn vault-keepers—may now clasp hands (or USB drives) in the service of cryptocurrency dynasty, both as self-important custodians and as shadowy delegators. 🌧️📜

“Let banks and savings associations buy and sell,” intones the OCC, “digital tokens as the customer bids them. And let them outsource, but do try not to misplace the wallets.”

What was once the realm of nervous night-vision bespectacled developers is now rendered into the ledgers and mahogany conference rooms of Wall Street. The OCC, perhaps fond of metaphors, likens custody of digital assets to a modern knight errant safeguarding both ye old coins and glittering NFTs.

The new letter also gestures grandly: banks (as magicians, bookkeepers, or mere gophers) may dabble in conversions, executions, settlements, taxes—so long as the customer has shouted “Go forth!” and all remains within the rulebook’s dusty grip. Banks can delegate even further down the custodial rabbit hole, relying on sub-custodians to do the heavy, digital lifting. True to bureaucratic form, the OCC counsels: “Know thy sub-custodian, and never trust anyone, not even yourself.” 🗝️🤹‍♂️

In their infinite caution, the OCC issues another reminder: banks and the crypto they hold must still respect the sanctified scripture of federal law—thou shalt not YOLO with customer coins. For those banks who play God with other people’s money, compliance with 12 C.F.R. part 9 or 150 is non-negotiable, at least until the next letter changes again.

As the OCC cryptically scribbles: “Even with sub-custodians, do not flee from prudence. Mind the law, lest your digital keys turn to pumpkins.”

In March, the OCC famously dispensed another interpretive pronouncement—Letter 1183—banishing 1179 into regulatory exile. The scrolls confirmed banks can dabble in crypto custody, hold stablecoin reserves, and even use blockchain like the kids do. The message: fewer obstacles, more innovation, and all the paper-pushing a banker could wish for. 🎩📄

Predictably, some regulatory sages remain perched atop their towers, grumbling into their beards—while others cavort at the prospect of banks meeting the ever-thirsty demand of crypto clients. Innovation or Pandora’s box? Only the next interpretive letter knows for sure.

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2025-05-10 04:05