On Mar. 7, OCC issued letter on permissible cryptocurrency activities.
OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1183 to clarify allowable bank cryptocurrency activities.
Reaffirms Interpretive Letter 1170 on crypto-asset custody services, see #82536.
Also reaffirms Interpretive Letters 1172 and 1174 on stablecoin and distributed ledger activity; rescinds Interpretive Letter 1179 as no longer necessary, see #95812.
OCC also withdrew from two interagency statements as they apply to national banks.
Statement on crypto-asset risk (#158222) and on crypto liquidity risks (#164100).
Interpretive Letter
Explains permissible cryptocurrency for national banks and federal savings associations
Confirms that crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks such as distributed ledger are permissible.
Rescinds requirement for OCC-supervised institutions to receive supervisory nonobjection and demonstrate that they have adequate controls in place beforehand.
The rescission is intended to reduce burden, encourage responsible innovation
Ensures bank activities treated consistently, regardless of the underlying technologies.
Regulators
OCC
Entity Types
Bank; Thrift
Reference
NR 2025-16, Bul 2025-2, Lt 1183, 3/7/2025; Rpl Lt IL 1179;
