Joint Statement on CRYPTO-ASSET Policy
The long-awaited policy statement on Crypto policy was just released by the three agencies that would be collectively engaged in supervision. The stated purpose of their working on the collaborative effort is to bring clarity to promote safety, soundness, consumer protection, and compliance with current finance statutes and rules.
Staff from the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC, first worked to understand crypto-assets and then determine their organization’s potential involvement. Involvement included:
- Custody of crypto-assets
- Sales and purchase facilitation
- Collateralized loans by crypto
- Payment activities including stablecoins
- Bank balance sheet crypto-assets
Based on their review, they created a list to provide greater clarity on whether banking organizations are legally permitted to engage in specific activities related to crypto-assets. During 2022 the agencies plan to provide guidance on:
- Crypto-asset safekeeping and traditional custody services
- Ancillary custody services
- Facilitation of customer purchases and sales of crypto-assets
- Issuance and distribution of stablecoins
- Activities involving the holding of crypto-assets on balance sheets
The agencies will also evaluate bank capital and liquidity standards to crypto-assets for activities involving U.S. banking organizations and will continue to engage with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on its consultative process as it relates to these areas.
The full Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Policy can be found
here.