Fed Joins OCC, FDIC in Withdrawing Crypto Warnings for U.S. Banks

The Federal Reserve has joined its fellow U.S. banking regulators in deleting its crypto guidance of previous years, including notices that banks should get pre-approvals before they get involved in crypto activity.

Now, all three agencies — including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — have joined in reversing those previous policies, leaving crypto matters at banks in the hands of their managers and compliance executives. In the absence of guidance, the banking industry awaits new laws from Congress to define how the digital assets industry should operate in the U.S.

“These actions ensure the Board’s expectations remain aligned with evolving risks and further support innovation in the banking system,” the Fed said in the Thursday statement announcing the change.

Banking supervision of its state member banks is one of the multiple roles performed by the Fed, which is better known for its monetary policy work. The agency’s move on Thursday will specifically remove four pieces of crypto guidance the board signed onto in 2022 and 2023, highlighting risks to banks posed by the sector.

Fed officials “will instead monitor banks’ crypto-asset activities through the olağan supervisory process.”