OCC Clarifies Permitted Stablecoin Activities
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
Related articles
-
Snowflake’s Financial Services Data Cloud helps data flow more seamlessly across industry transactions.
-
Basel Committee has proposed a prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures.
-
The regulated blockchain infrastructure platform announced the sixth broker-dealer to join.
-
RBC Capital Markets paid more than $800,000 to resolve charges that it engaged in unfair dealing in munis.
-
Upstart exchange has seen market share increase to near 4%.