The head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Jonathan Gould, openly stated that crypto companies should obtain banking licenses on par with traditional financial institutions. He believes there is no reason to treat digital assets differently.
"There is no reason to consider digital assets differently"
Speaking at a blockchain conference, Gould emphasized that some new applicants for licenses from the digital or fintech segments may seem too revolutionary for a national trust bank. However, asset custody and savings services have been operating electronically for decades.
"There is simply no reason to consider digital assets differently," he stated. "Moreover, it is important not to restrict banks, including existing national trust banks, by technologies or businesses of the past."
The OCC regulates national banks and previously viewed cryptocurrency companies as a threat to the banking system. Today, only two crypto banks have OCC licenses: Anchorage Digital, which received its license in 2021, and Erebor, which received a preliminary banking license in October.
The system is ready for evolution
According to Gould, the banking system has the "ability to evolve from telegraph to blockchain." He added that the OCC has received 14 applications to open a new bank since the beginning of the year, "including applications from organizations dealing with new or digital assets." This is almost as many as similar applications the OCC received in the last four years.
"Issuing licenses helps ensure that the banking system continues to keep pace with the evolution of finance and supports our modern economy," he explained. "That is why organizations engaged in activities related to digital assets and other new technologies must have a pathway to federal banking oversight."
Response to skeptics
Gould noted that banks and financial trading groups expressed concerns about cryptocurrency companies obtaining banking licenses and the OCC's ability to oversee them.
"Such concerns risk stifling innovations that would better serve banking customers and support local economies," he responded. "The OCC also has years of experience overseeing a crypto-native national trust bank."
The regulator stated that it receives inquiries from existing national banks about their own initiatives to create exciting and innovative products and services "almost daily."
"All of this strengthens my confidence in the OCC's ability to effectively oversee new entrants as well as the new activities of existing banks in a fair and impartial manner," he added.
Gould's statements demonstrate a significant shift in the approach of American regulators to the crypto industry. Whereas digital assets were once seen as a potential threat, they are now regarded as a natural evolution of the financial system. This pragmatic approach could open a new era of integrating cryptocurrencies into the traditional banking ecosystem.
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