The request from leading banking groups to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to temporarily suspend the processing of applications from crypto companies for bank licenses has caused significant resonance in the US financial sector.
This is reported by Business • Media
Banking Associations Warn of Stability Risks
In a letter signed by the largest banking and credit unions, it is stated that granting bank licenses to companies in the cryptocurrency sector, including those like Circle, Ripple Labs, and Fidelity Digital Assets, could signify a “substantial departure from existing OCC policy.” According to the authors of the letter, this creates risks for financial stability, as such companies could obtain national bank status without adhering to established regulatory standards.
“Applicants have significant political and legal questions regarding whether their business plans encompass fiduciary functions traditionally performed by national trust banks,” the document states.
Banking organizations argue that cryptocurrency firms seek to obtain trust bank charters to avoid stricter capital requirements and the regulated structure of traditional banks while not fully fulfilling fiduciary duties.
Crypto Community Criticizes Banks’ Initiative
The banking position has been met with negative reactions from representatives of the crypto industry. Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long noted on social media platform X that such a reaction indicates banks’ fear of competition. She posed a rhetorical question: if banking associations are so concerned about the new rules of the game, why don’t the banks themselves switch to trust companies with less stringent regulatory requirements?
Paradigm’s Head of Public Policy Alexander Grieve emphasized that banking associations and credit unions, which rarely agree with each other, have united this time against cryptocurrency companies that are becoming real competition for them.
Attorney Logan Payne from Winston & Strawn noted that most stablecoin issuers in the US engage in activities that fall outside the regulation of the new GENIUS Act. To operate legally nationwide, crypto companies are forced to obtain separate money transmission licenses in each state, significantly complicating their operations. The OCC bank license opens the possibility to operate at the federal level and greatly simplifies regulatory procedures.
It is worth noting that recently, more and more cryptocurrency firms are seeking to obtain national bank status, especially after US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act—the first regulatory act in the country governing stablecoins. In particular, Ripple Labs applied for a bank license in early July of this year.