Breaking: Fed, FDIC & OCC Greenlight Banks to Hold Crypto—Here’s What Changes in 2025
Regulators just handed banks the keys to the crypto kingdom. The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC dropped long-awaited clarity on digital asset custody rules—and Wall Street's already salivating.
Finally, some rules of the road
No more guessing games for institutions. The joint guidance spells out exactly how banks can safeguard crypto for clients without getting torched by auditors. Cold storage? Check. Insurance requirements? You bet. The 37-page doc even blesses staking (with enough disclaimers to make a lawyer blush).
Bankers gonna bank
Expect JPMorgan and BofA to roll out 'blockchain solutions' faster than you can say 'hypocrisy.' Remember when these same firms called Bitcoin a fraud? Now they're scrambling to custody it—for a 2% annual fee, naturally.
The fine print bites back
There's a catch (there's always a catch). Banks must prove they've got 'robust' systems to prevent hacks and mix-ups. Translation: more compliance hires, more 'strategic partnerships' with Chainalysis, and more excuses to charge clients for 'risk management.'
Game on for institutional adoption. Just don't expect your local branch to start stacking sats—this is strictly for the private jet crowd.
Banks need to ‘know’ about crypto
The agencies confirmed that banks are permitted to hold crypto assets for their customers, either in a fiduciary or non-fiduciary capacity. However, banking organizations must consider several key rules when offering such services.
“Given the complexities of crypto-asset safekeeping, a banking organization’s board, officers, and employees should have the requisite knowledge and understanding of cryptoasset safekeeping services to establish adequate operational capacity and appropriate controls to conduct the activity in a SAFE and sound manner and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” the regulatory watchdogs said in the statement.
The bank and crypto keys
While a bank can hold crypto assets on behalf of a client, the agencies reaffirmed that the liability for safekeeping rests with the bank.
As such, banks have to assume full control of the assets, in this case, the keys. Per the guidance, a banking organization has to “reasonably demonstrate” that no other party, including the customer, can access the assets while still under the safekeeping of the bank.
Banks are also allowed to use third-party custody vendors. However, the bank in question is the one responsible and will be liable for the third party’s actions.
The Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC’s statement comes amid an observable shift in the regulatory approach to bank and crypto in the U.S.
FDIC and OCC have in the past issued key guidelines to banks as they allow for more participation of banking providers in the crypto industry.
The FDIC, for instance, released documents related to crypto debanking in February 2025, and in March, clarified that banks can engage in crypto-related activities without having to seek prior approval from the agency. The Federal Reserve also issued a similar guidance in April.
