With his latest steps, US Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould has paved the way for major crypto companies such as Ripple and Crypto.com to obtain a national bank license. Gould actively promotes the integration of crypto companies operating in the field of payment technologies into the federal banking system.
Ease of Banking License for Crypto Companies
With the new decisions taken, the practice regarding digital assets for banks, which was introduced during the Biden period and required regulatory approval for contact with crypto assets, was abolished. In this way, the strict regulation in the period known as “Chokepoint 2.0” ended. Crypto companies will now be able to use Federal Reserve payment systems directly and operate without intermediaries by accepting deposits on their own behalf. These developments mean that one of the biggest obstacles to the entry of institutional capital into the crypto ecosystem has been eliminated.
FED Payment Networks and Impacts on the Sector
The OCC, under Gould’s leadership, previously operated on a “get written permission first” mentality. Now the basic approach has been changed to free unless expressly prohibited. Thus, crypto companies will be able to quickly carry out their transactions through FED payment channels such as FedNow or Fedwire, transaction costs will decrease and the need for intermediaries will be eliminated. Regarding stablecoin integration, the report prepared by the White House’s Digital Asset Market Working Group is expected to be completed by July 2025. However, the OCC is taking rapid action with its existing powers in this process.
The crypto industry has donated significant amounts to candidates who “support innovation” in the 2024 elections. In this way, there were around 278 crypto-supporting members in Congress, paving the way for regulations. Additionally, due to MiCA regulations being rapidly implemented in Europe and the shift of liquidity abroad, US regulators aim to keep crypto liquidity in the country again.
Jonathan Gould is actively inviting companies like Ripple and Crypto.com to apply for national bank licences. In addition, with the new regulations, the “regulatory approval” requirement introduced in 2021 is removed, facilitating processes in stablecoin and custody services.
Some industry figures point out that the main goal for crypto in the US is to digitize term deposits directly at banks, which is much larger than the current stablecoin market. Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, emphasizes that tokenized bank deposits will play an important role in the new era.
Increasing Competition and Risks in the Banking Sector
The developments pose a serious threat to traditional banks. With crypto companies receiving national bank licenses, they have become not only customers but also direct competitors for deposits. In response, five major regional banks launched their own blockchain payment network, the Cari Network, in an effort to maintain their market share. Current Network makes it possible to transfer tokenized deposits on the blockchain and make faster and more secure transactions.
From 2023 to 2030, the stablecoin market is projected to reach $3 trillion. If banks cannot provide crypto custody and stablecoin payment services, they will be at a serious disadvantage against fintech businesses in the growing payments market. Meanwhile, the banking lobby is trying to increase regulatory pressure by arguing that new competitors will be exempt from capital requirements. Possible intervention of the US Congress may make it difficult to obtain full efficiency from these licenses.
Although an important legal obstacle has been removed, there are still some uncertainties and difficulties for the sector in practice.
