- The Bank Policy Institute, representing major Wall Street banks, is considering a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
- The OCC, under Acting Comptroller Jonathan Gould, has lowered the bar for granting national trust bank charters to crypto and fintech firms.
- Banking groups warn this creates a two-tier system, allowing new entrants to offer bank-like services without the same regulatory burden as traditional banks.
- Companies including Circle, Ripple, Paxos, crypto.com, and World Liberty Financial have filed or received conditional approvals.
A major Wall Street banking group is threatening legal action against a key U.S. banking regulator for its push to grant federal charters to cryptocurrency companies. This brewing conflict, reported by The Guardian, centers on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and its leader, former crypto executive Jonathan Gould. National trust charters would allow approved firms to operate across all 50 states with bank-like powers.
Consequently, traditional banking institutions argue this reinterpretation creates an unfair regulatory advantage. Groups like the Bank Policy Institute and the American Bankers Association warn it allows crypto firms to avoid the full oversight burden faced by traditional lenders. They have urged caution, pointing to past crypto failures like FTX and Celsius as justification for slower approval processes.
However, Gould has defended the OCC’s approach, stating that blocking crypto custody is “a recipe for irrelevance.” He highlighted the more than $2 trillion in existing digital custodial activity already managed by national trust banks. This regulatory shift follows other significant milestones for crypto banking, such as Kraken securing a Federal Reserve master account earlier this month.
Meanwhile, legal expert Joshua Chu suggests the banking industry’s objection may be less about principle and more about competitive disparity. He argues incumbents protest “a two-tier system where newcomers enjoy a clean, modern charter while legacy institutions remain shackled.” The Independent Community Bankers of America has similarly warned the plan creates a dangerous loophole in foundational banking regulation.
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