US Banks Get Green Light to Hold Crypto for Blockchain Fees—OCC Drops Regulatory Bombshell
Wall Street meets Web3—officially.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) just handed traditional banks a backstage pass to the crypto economy. No more hiding behind custody shells or fintech partnerships—US banks can now directly hold digital assets to settle blockchain transactions. Talk about burying the ledger.
Why this breaks the mold
For years, banks treated crypto like a rebellious stepchild—profiting from ETFs and futures while keeping actual coins at arm’s length. Now? They’re being drafted as infrastructure players. The irony? This ‘innovation’ comes from one of DC’s oldest financial regulators.
The fine print
The guidance specifically covers transaction fees, not speculative holdings. Think gas fees on Ethereum or network costs for enterprise chains—not your ape JPEG collateral. Still, it’s a foothold. And in finance, footholds become bridges. Then toll booths.
The cynical take
Watch banks spin this as ‘client service’ while quietly building fee structures that’d make a Coinbase exec blush. After all, why settle for 2% on fiat transfers when you can charge for crypto settlement—and blame ‘blockchain complexity’?
One thing’s clear: The OCC just rewrote the rules. Whether banks use this to enable DeFi or strangle it? That’s the trillion-dollar question.
National Banks Allowed To Manage Crypto
In a letter released on Tuesday, the OCC stated that banks are permitted to pay network fees to facilitate activities involving digital assets, provided the banks can foresee a legitimate need for holding these currencies.
The letter, which was signed by the Senior Deputy Comptroller and the Chief Counsel of the regulatory agency, states that a bank’s proposal to manage crypto assets on its balance sheet for the purpose of settling network fees is acceptable under current regulations.
Additionally, the OCC confirmed that national banks can hold digital assets as a principal asset for testing platforms related to crypto activities, whether these systems are developed in-house or sourced from third-party services.
Banks To Trade Stablecoins For Payment Processing
The regulator acknowledged that requiring banks to rely on external parties for crypto assets could increase operational costs and risks, potentially deterring thorough testing of their systems.
Furthermore, national banks may borrow securities from custody customers that are ineligible for purchase for their own accounts. This permits banks to lend these securities to third parties without exposing themselves to credit risk from the customers.
The guidelines also indicate that banks are allowed to buy, sell, and issue stablecoins to facilitate payments. If a bank already possesses the operational capacity to manage the purchase, sale, and custody of digital assets in conjunction with other permissible activities, minimal additional operational hurdles are anticipated for acquiring, holding, and utilizing crypto to address network fees.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
