US Banks to Offer Direct Bitcoin Access to Clients

US banks to act as intermediaries in crypto transactions, offering legal alternatives.

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted permission for national banks and federal savings associations to act as intermediaries in cryptocurrency transactions.

The regulator clarified the operational mechanism in this market. Financial institutions will operate under the classic agency model: executing a transaction with one client while simultaneously opening a mirror (offsetting) position with another.

This approach allows banks to avoid holding cryptocurrency on their balance sheets and mitigates speculative risks. Their role is to ensure liquidity and provide guarantees to both parties involved in the transaction.

The OCC believes this initiative will encourage users to transition from unregulated platforms to transparent and fully legal financial instruments.

Conditions and restrictions include:

• mandatory verification of the legality of each transaction and its compliance with statutory powers;
• implementation of procedures to control operational and compliance risks;
• banks must possess expertise in managing counterparty default risk.

SEC Policy

SEC Chairman SEC Paul Atkins told Decrypt that most ICOs should not be considered securities transactions. Consequently, they fall outside the regulator’s purview.

“This is precisely what we want to encourage. Such operations, in our definition, do not meet the criteria of a security,” he noted.

The chairman justified his position with a taxonomy of tokens presented in November, dividing the crypto industry into four categories. According to Atkins, three of these are not securities in themselves:

• network tokens;
• digital collectibles;
• digital tools (e.g., tickets).

The SEC chairman is convinced that this principle should also apply to ICOs. He stated that the regulator’s responsibility lies with tokenized securities.

“ICOs touch on all four categories. Three of them fall under the CFTC’s responsibility, so let them worry about that, while we focus on tokenized securities,” he concluded.

Atkins also announced an ambitious SEC action plan for the crypto market in 2026, as reported by The Block.

“Everything we have laid out will begin to sprout and bear fruit in the new year. And we will be able to reap the harvest,” he said.

The chairman identified the introduction of an “innovation exemption” as a priority—temporary regulatory relief for crypto and fintech startups.

Back in December, the CFTC authorized the use of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC as collateral. This initiative is being implemented under the GENIUS Act.