Banks may custody crypto and stablecoins if they meet strict compliance and risk standards, U.S. regulators confirm in new joint guidance
U.S. banking regulators have clarified the rules regarding the safeguarding or custody of cryptocurrency by banking organizations in a statement.
The joint statement does not establish any new rules regarding banks’ involvement in crypto custody, as noted in the press release by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Instead, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC reiterated the current regulatory guidance for banks, emphasizing the relevant statutes. The statement also emphasizes the expectations regarding risk management principles for banks that provide custody services for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Banks must be informed about cryptocurrency.
The agencies have verified that banks can hold crypto assets for their consumers in either a fiduciary or non-fiduciary capacity. Nevertheless, banking organizations must adhere to several critical regulations when providing these services.
“Given the complexities of crypto-asset safekeeping, a banking organization’s board, officers, and employees should have the requisite knowledge and understanding of cryptoasset safekeeping services to establish adequate operational capacity and appropriate controls to conduct the activity in a safe and sound manner and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” the regulatory watchdogs said in the statement.
The agencies reiterated that the bank is responsible for the safekeeping of crypto assets on behalf of a client.
Consequently, banks are obligated to assume complete ownership of the assets, which in this instance are the keys. By the guidelines, a banking organization must “reasonably demonstrate” that the assets are inaccessible to any other party, including the customer, while they are still in the bank’s custody.
Banks are also permitted to make use of third-party custody vendors. Nevertheless, the bank in question is the one responsible and will be held accountable for the actions of the third party.
The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC’s statement is released in the context of a discernible change in the regulatory approach to banks and cryptocurrency in the United States.
Key guidelines have been issued by the FDIC and OCC to banks in the past, enabling a greater degree of involvement by banking providers in the crypto industry.
The FDIC, for instance, released documents related to crypto debanking in February 2025, and in March, clarified that banks can engage in crypto-related activities without obtaining prior approval from the agency. In April, the Federal Reserve also issued comparable guidance.
