The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has clarified that various cryptocurrency activities remain permissible within the US federal banking system.

In Interpretive Letter 1183, the OCC reaffirmed that national banks and federal savings associations in the US can engage in crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks, such as distributed ledger technology.

The letter also removes the requirement for OCC-supervised institutions to obtain supervisory non-objection and demonstrate adequate controls before undertaking these cryptocurrency-related activities.

“The OCC expects banks to have the same strong risk management controls in place to support novel bank activities as they do for traditional ones,”

said Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Rodney E. Hood.

“Today’s action will reduce the burden on banks to engage in crypto-related activities and ensure that these bank activities are treated consistently by the OCC, regardless of the underlying technology. I will continue to work diligently to ensure regulations are effective and not excessive, while maintaining a strong federal banking system.”

In line with Interpretive Letter 1183, the OCC has also withdrawn from the joint statement on crypto-asset risks to banking organisations and the joint statement on liquidity risks to banking organisations associated with vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset market.

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