The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) have both recently taken actions and issued statements that indicate a more permissive bank regulatory approach to crypto-asset activities. 

On March 7, 2025, the OCC: 

• Rescinded guidance that had required banks to obtain the OCC’s non-objection prior to engaging in certain crypto-asset activities;¹ and,
• Withdrew from January 2023 and February 2023 interagency statements that had focused on heightened risks relating to crypto-asset activities. ²

These actions effectively restore the OCC’s official guidance regarding crypto-asset activities to as it was at the close of the 2020.  This OCC guidance follows a February announcement from the FDIC also reflecting a more permissive regulatory approach to crypto-asset activities.³

OCC Interpretive Letter 1183

The OCC’s Interpretive Letter 1183 rescinds earlier OCC guidance (Interpretive Letter 1179) which had required written OCC non-objection for banks to engage in crypto-asset activities permitted under three OCC interpretive letters.  The three interpretive letters address the following:

• Custody: Interpretive Letter 1170 provides that banks may provide certain cryptocurrency custody services; ⁴
• Stablecoin Reserves: Interpretive Letter 1172 provides that banks may hold deposits serving as reserves backing stablecoins, specifically addressing use of stablecoin backed on a 1:1 basis by a single fiat currency⁵; and,
• Distributed Ledger activities: Interpretive Letter 1172 provides that banks may (1) act as nodes on a distributed ledger to verify customer payments, and (2) engage in certain stablecoin activities to facilitate payment transactions on a distributed.⁶

Interpretive Letter 1183 effectively restores the OCC’s official guidance regarding crypto-asset activities to what it was at the close of the 2020.  Specifically, banks are again permitted to provide crypto-asset custody services, hold stablecoin reserves consistent with the conditions of Interpretive Letter 1172, and operate a node on a distributed ledger without obtaining supervisory non-objection, provided that the same are consistent with generally regulatory and prudential requirements applicable to banks.  Indeed, on March 17, 2025, the OCC announced that it had conditionally approved a fintech business model for a national bank.⁷

FDIC Publication

In a similar vein, in February, the FDIC published 175 supervisory documents relating to crypto-asset activities and Acting Chair Travis Hill issued an accompanying public statement declaring that the FDIC is “actively reevaluating [its] supervisory approach to crypto-related activities,” including Financial Institution Letter (FIL) 16-2022 (which requires FDIC-supervised institutions that intend to engage in, or that are currently engaged in, crypto asset activities to notify the FDIC, which will provide supervisory feedback) and “providing a pathway for institutions to engage in crypto- and blockchain-related activities while still adhering to safety and soundness principles.”⁸

Conclusion

Taken together, these OCC and FDIC actions and statements reflect a broader opening to crypto-asset activities by U.S. federal banking regulators.  The King & Spalding team is available to discuss any questions or concerns related to the new guidance.