The financial revolution continues! The Office of the US Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has officially given the green light to US banks to work with cryptocurrencies. Now, state banks and federal savings associations can not only store their customers’ digital assets, but also manage them.
Another important step is that banks are now allowed to hold dollar reserves to back fiat-pegged stablecoins. The OCC also allowed banks to participate in blockchain verification by acting as validators on the network. This means that the largest US financial institutions can now play a key role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
But the most interesting thing is that they no longer need to obtain separate permission from the OCC to participate in these processes. Previously, banks had to prove their ability to control cryptocurrency operations and wait for the approval of the regulator. Now this barrier has been removed, which greatly simplifies the introduction of digital assets into the traditional banking systеm.
Acting OCC Chairman Rodney Hood assured that despite the liberalization, banks will continue to strictly control liquidity, taking into account the risks of the crypto market. The regulator promises not to overload banks with unnecessary rules, but at the same time ensure the stability of the financial systеm.
It is worth noting that back in 2022, after the collapse of the Terra project, OCC warned: even stablecoins with fiat security are not always as reliable as their issuers say. However, the new step of the American regulator shows that cryptocurrency is becoming an integral part of the global financial systеm, and banks can no longer stand aside!