U.S. banking regulator to revisit crypto rules

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), within the U.S. Treasury, will revise its guiding rules on cryptocurrencies, Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu said.

On May 19, Hsu will testify before the House Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. Congress. In the prepared remarks, he wrote:

“The OCC is focused on promoting important innovations. For example, we created the Office of Innovation, updated the licensing rules for national banks and trust companies, and interpreted custody services for cryptocurrencies as part of banking business. I asked staff to revisit these actions.”

Hsu noted that he intends to remain neutral, but his main aim is to keep banks safe for consumers. He said that these initiatives were developed without proper coordination among stakeholders and were not part of a broad regulatory strategy.

Much of the OCC’s crypto-related guidance was issued under the leadership of former head Brian Brooks. The regulator allowed holding private keys to crypto wallets, store the backing for stablecoins and issue them.

Brooks left the OCC in January 2021 and now heads the U.S. arm of Binance.

Back in April 2021, Paxos received a license as a nationwide trust bank from the OCC.

In February, the regulator issued a similar license to Protego Trust Bank, and in January — to the custodian Anchorage.

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