OCC Greenlights Banks Holding Crypto for Digital-Asset Network Fees - Banking Sector Gets Major Regulatory Boost

Banks just scored a massive regulatory touchdown in the crypto space.

The OCC's confirmation that banks can hold cryptocurrencies to pay network fees represents the most significant banking-crypto integration since... well, ever. Traditional finance finally gets to play in the digital asset sandbox without regulatory handcuffs.

Network Fees Meet Mainstream Banking

This isn't just about holding Bitcoin for speculation - it's about operational necessity. Banks can now directly participate in blockchain networks without third-party intermediaries. They're cutting out the middleman while regulators actually cheer them on. When was the last time that happened in finance?

The compliance department might need extra coffee, but the crypto teams are celebrating. Banks can finally stop pretending blockchain is just for cross-border payments and actually use the native assets. About time they caught up with the rest of us.

So while Wall Street analysts debate whether this makes crypto 'legitimate,' banks are already loading up their digital wallets. Because nothing says 'we're serious' like holding the assets you need to actually use the technology. Take that, traditional finance skeptics.

OCC allows banks to use digital assets to test crypto-related platforms

The OCC confirmed permissible bank activities related to paying crypto-asset network fees, sometimes referred to as “gas fees.” Read more at https://t.co/fCIhmzWVLP. pic.twitter.com/SZFt4rHwEB

— OCC (@USOCC) November 18, 2025

Similar to blockchain networks, banks will also need to have specific tokens on their balance sheets to use as a fee for transactions. The Interpretive Letter No. 1186 detailed that activities allowed under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act will require banks to pay network fees as an agent for the customer or as part of their custody operations.

Adam Cohen, the OCC’s senior deputy comptroller, chief counsel, argued that the initiative enables a national bank to expand its pre-existing permissible activities. He also acknowledged that banks won’t have to depend on operational risks associated with acquiring digital assets from a third party.

“Permitting the bank to engage in the proposed activities enables it merely to expand… pre-existing permissible activity without having to expend resources or expose itself to operational and counterparty risks associated with acquiring the necessary crypto-assets from a third party.”

-Adam Cohen, Senior Deputy Comptroller, Chief Counsel at OCC.

The banking regulator took a more cautious approach to crypto during the Biden administration. The OCC required financial institutions to receive approval from the agency before engaging in most digital asset-related activities.

Under the Biden administration, other banking regulators, including the FDIC, have prevented financial institutions from participating in crypto-related activities. The agency cited crypto assets as too risky, including engagement with permissionless blockchain networks like Ethereum, and the public, on which activities can be censored by human administrators.

The recent pro-crypto TRUMP administration has caused a tidal shift in the crypto industry this year by dismantling such policies. The OCC reversed Biden’s previous policy in March, which required national banks to gain regulator approval before engaging in crypto activity. The agency, under Trump appointee Jonathan Gould, has also allowed financial institutions to custody digital assets for their customers and engage in stablecoin-related activities.

Other U.S. banking regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as well as the broader Treasury Department, revealed initiatives to write new regulations governing stablecoin issuers and activity. The new regulations will be based on the recently established GENIUS Act requirements; however, those rules haven’t yet been set in place for approval.

Crypto firms file for a national trust bank charter

Apart from national banks, the digital asset exchange platform Crypto.com applied to the OCC in late October for a national trust bank charter. The firm said the initiative aims to expand its federally supervised crypto-custody services for institutions.

The crypto firm stated that the filing is part of its regulated, security-first approach for large customers, including ETF sponsors, corporates, and advisers. The OCC regards a national trust bank as a limited-purpose national bank it supervises for trust company powers. Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek acknowledged that building the product and service portfolio through regulated and secure offerings has been the firm’s focus since its launch.

According to OCC’s digital-assets licensing portal, Coinbase also filed in October to establish Coinbase National Trust Company, headquartered in New York. USDC issuer Circle also filed in late June to launch First National Digital Currenty Bank, N.A., to bring its stablecoin reserves oversight and institutional custody under an OCC charter.

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