BREAKING: Fed Greenlights Banks to Hold Bitcoin—Crypto Just Went Mainstream

Wall Street's old guard just got a new playbook. Federal regulators have finally clarified rules allowing banks to custody Bitcoin—tearing down the last bureaucratic roadblock to institutional adoption.

Game on.

The move signals a seismic shift: Your grandma's savings account might soon sit alongside Satoshi's invention in Chase's vaults. JPMorgan analysts predict $200B in institutional inflows within 18 months—assuming they don't screw it up like they did with subprime mortgages.

Key takeaways:

- Cold storage requirements now match existing asset custody rules

- Insurers must cover digital holdings like physical assets

- Audit trails required for all on-chain movements

Critics warn this could centralize crypto's decentralized ethos. Boosters counter that liquidity beats ideology every time. Either way—the suits just won.

Key Takeaways

• Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC clarified that banks must manage risks when offering bitcoin custody services.
• The joint statement does not create new rules but reinforces existing risk management expectations for digital asset safekeeping.
• Leadership changes at key agencies signal a more bitcoin-friendly U.S. regulatory environment.

U.S. federal banking agencies have issued new guidance clarifying how existing regulations apply to banks that hold Bitcoin on behalf of customers.

The joint statement, released Monday by the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), is aimed at addressing industry uncertainty around custody of digital assets.

Statement

The statement emphasized that banks must consider risks associated with bitcoin custody as they would with any new product or service.

Key concerns highlighted included cybersecurity and the secure management of cryptographic keys and other sensitive information.

The agencies explained:

“A banking organization that is contemplating providing safekeeping for crypto-assets should consider the evolving nature of the crypto-asset market, including the technology underlying the crypto-assets, and implement a risk governance framework that appropriately adapts to relevant risks.”

The statement stressed that these clarifications do not establish new supervisory expectations, but rather reinforce the need for robust risk management frameworks. This comes amid a series of regulatory updates since President Donald TRUMP took office, with agencies like the OCC in May stating that banks can buy and sell digital assets for customers, and the FDIC recently allowing financial institutions to engage in digital asset activities without advance notification.

In a further shift, the U.S. Senate last week confirmed former blockchain executive Jonathan Gould as head of the OCC, signaling a more digital asset-friendly regulatory environment.

For those interested in the technical details of bitcoin custody, the bitcoin whitepaper remains a foundational resource.