{"id":56925,"date":"2025-12-09T09:39:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/occ-boss-says-no-justification-to-judge-banks-and-crypto-differently\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T09:39:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:39:54","slug":"occ-boss-says-no-justification-to-judge-banks-and-crypto-differently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/occ-boss-says-no-justification-to-judge-banks-and-crypto-differently\/","title":{"rendered":"OCC boss says \u2018no justification\u2019 to judge banks and crypto differently"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Office of the Comptroller of the Currency\u2019s Jonathan Gould says crypto companies should have a path to supervision in the banking system, which can evolve to embrace blockchain. <\/p>\n

\"OCC<\/picture><\/div>\n
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Crypto companies seeking a US federal bank charter should be treated no differently than other financial institutions, says Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).<\/p>\n

Gould told<\/a> a blockchain conference on Monday that some new charter applicants in the digital or fintech spaces could be seen as offering novel activities<\/a> for a national trust bank, but noted \u201ccustody and safekeeping services have been happening electronically for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is simply no justification for considering digital assets differently,\u201d he added. \u201cAdditionally, it is important that we do not confine banks, including current national trust banks, to the technologies or businesses of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

The OCC regulates national banks<\/a> and has previously seen<\/a> crypto companies as a risk to the banking system. Only two crypto banks are OCC-licensed: Anchorage Digital, which has held a charter since 2021, and Erebor, which got a preliminary banking charter<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n

Crypto \u201cshould have\u201d a way to supervision<\/h2>\n

Gould said that the banking system has the \u201ccapacity to evolve from the telegraph to the blockchain.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the OCC had received 14 applications to start a new bank<\/a> so far this year, \u201cincluding some from entities engaged in novel or digital asset activities,\u201d which was nearly equal to the number of similar applications that the OCC received over the last four years.<\/p>\n

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould giving remarks at the 2025 Blockchain Association Policy Summit. Source: <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cChartering helps ensure that the banking system continues to keep pace with the evolution of finance and supports our modern economy,\u201d he added. \u201cThat is why entities that engage in activities involving digital assets and other novel technologies should have a pathway to become federally supervised banks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gould brushes off banks\u2019 concerns<\/h2>\n

Gould noted that banks and financial trade groups had raised concerns<\/a> about crypto companies getting banking charters and the OCC\u2019s ability to oversee them.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Argentina weighs letting traditional banks trade crypto: Report<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSuch concerns risk reversing innovations that would better serve bank customers and support local economies,\u201d he said. \u201cThe OCC has also had years of experience supervising a crypto-native national trust bank.\u201d<\/p>\n