The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today published a letter clarifying national banks’ and federal savings associations’ authority to hold “reserves” on behalf of customers who issue certain stablecoins.
Stablecoins refer to cryptocurrency backed by an asset such as a fiat currency, including U.S. dollars or other foreign currency.
Federally Chartered Banks and Thrifts May Engage in Certain Stablecoin Activities https://t.co/V0KGCPyGUP
— OCC (@USOCC) September 21, 2020
“National banks and federal savings associations currently engage in stablecoin-related related activities involving billions of dollars each day,” Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks said. “This opinion provides greater regulatory certainty for banks within the federal banking system to provide those client services in a safe and sound manner.”
The letter responds to questions regarding the application of stablecoin-related bank activities.
It concludes national banks and federal savings associations may hold “reserves” on behalf of customers who issue stablecoins, in situations where the coins are held in hosted wallets. The letter addresses the use of stablecoins backed by a single fiat currency on a one-to-one basis where the bank verifies at least daily that reserve account balances meet or exceed the number of the issuer’s outstanding stablecoins.
Source: OCC
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
And receive exclusive articles on securities markets
🏆 The 2026 Global Markets Choice Awards are here! 🌍 Nominations are officially OPEN for the celebration of excellence in global capital markets trading & technology. Nominate below:
https://www.jotform.com/form/260086385121150
Delaware Life Insurance Company is becoming the first insurance carrier to offer an index that contains cryptocurrency, adding the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index to its fixed index annuity (FIA) portfolio.
As the digital assets industry pushes toward
Franklin Templeton is expanding its tokenized fund suite, signaling growing institutional demand for blockchain-based fund infrastructure and regulated investment products moving onchain. Read the full article below:
$50 billion in active ETF inflows helped fuel a record year for @BlackRock 's iShares business, as investors continue to lean into active strategies.
Related articles
-
Modern market infrastructure can bring established institutional products together with real-time settlement.
-
Banks can easily manage smart contracts on both their own ledgers for tokenized deposits and the Swift ledger.
-
Pairing Coinbase with Citi’s regulated banking rails gives a direct path between tradFi & digital assets.
-
Financial institutions of all sizes will be to clear and settle tokenised deposit transactions.Â
-
The proposals relate to a regulatory framework for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers.