The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Interpretive Letter #1188 on December 9, 2025, confirming that national banks can act as intermediaries in cryptocurrency transactions as 'riskless principal'.

This means that banks can purchase cryptocurrency from one client and immediately resell it to another client without holding inventory or taking on market risk, limited only to settlement risk. This model is similar to brokerage activities in traditional securities or foreign exchange markets and is considered a legitimate part of 'banking'.

This decision marks a further embrace of the integration of cryptocurrencies by U.S. regulators rather than repressing it.