Pete Schroder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Bank regulators announced Thursday that they are pulling back several documents urging banks to be alert when they dabbled in cryptocurrency and related activities.
The Federal Reserve said it has withdrawn its supervisory letters that stipulate that banks should seek prior approval from regulators before they can engage in crypto assets and stubcoin activities.
Additionally, the Fed joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Secretary of Currency in withdrawing a pair of 2023 statements urging banks to be vigilant about crypto-related risks.
Under advance guidance, regulators warned banks to be vigilant about the risks of volatility, legal uncertainty and liquidity when considering whether to provide crypto-related services or assume crypto companies as clients.
With that guidance removed, the latest move by the Trump administration is to take a more encryption-friendly stance. In a statement announcing the changes, the Fed said regulators would “consider whether new guidance is appropriate to support innovation, including crypto asset activities.
In March, the OCC was the first US regulator to move to make it easier for banks to engage in cryptographic activities, and similarly moved to scrap guidance adopted under the previous administration, urging banks to be cautious about the space.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder, Editing by Chris Reese and Deepa Babington)