OCC Gives Banks the Green Light to Dive Into Crypto Trading for Clients

Wall Street’s backdoor into crypto just got wider—regulators are rolling out the red carpet.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) just cleared national banks to custody and trade cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients. No more hiding behind fintech middlemen—traditional finance can now play the game directly.

Why this matters:
Banks have been itching to get their hands on crypto revenue streams without the regulatory side-eye. Now they’ve got it—just in time for the next bull run.

The fine print:
This isn’t a free-for-all. Banks still need robust risk controls (read: paperwork) to satisfy the OCC’s compliance hawks. But let’s be real—since when has bureaucracy stopped a money grab?

The cynical take:
Nothing unshackles innovation like the scent of fresh fees. Welcome to crypto’s institutional era—where the tech is decentralized, but the profits sure aren’t.

OCC doubles down on crypto

Rodney Hood, the CEO of the OCC, added that banks could offer other services, 

“These banks may provide other custody services, including record keeping, tax, or reporting services for their customers. OCC banks may use a sub-custodian to provide the same services.”

The update comes after another guidance in March, which greenlighted banks to handle crypto assets and stablecoins. 

Interestingly, the March supervisory memo also rescinded a previous restrictive stance against the digital assets sector that has been in place since 2021. 

Overall, the pro-crypto shift is now a growing trend under the President Donald TRUMP Administration.

Reacting to the OCC’s latest update, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, led by Republicans, applauded the move. It pledged support for the crypto market structure bill and read, 

“Members look forward to continuing the work needed to develop a digital asset framework that drives innovation and builds upon the success of the Trump Admin’s pro-growth, pro-innovation agenda.”

Nevertheless, OCC’s Hood reiterated that the regulator expected all permissible crypto activities to happen within set rules. He added,

“I want to be clear that the OCC expects these activities to be conducted in a SAFE and sound manner, and in compliance with applicable law.”

That said, stablecoins appear well-positioned to benefit from this massive shift, and by extension, this could set the stage for the disruption of the traditional banking system.