US regulator OKs banks to handle cryptocurrency transactions

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has authorized national banks to intermediate crypto transactions through riskless principal trades, according to new guidance released by the agency.

The OCC published Interpretive Letter 1188 on December 9, formally permitting national banks to participate in transactions where they briefly purchase digital assets from one customer and immediately sell them to another in fully offsetting trades.

Under the riskless principal model, banks do not retain inventory or maintain prolonged market exposure, the agency stated in the letter. The OCC classified such activities as low-risk and comparable to established brokerage practices already permitted in traditional finance.

The guidance emphasizes that these transactions function similarly to long-standing securities intermediation, the letter stated. The OCC has maintained that financial activities should be regulated based on risk rather than technology, continuing the agency’s technology-neutral regulatory approach.

Banks engaging in cryptocurrency intermediation must maintain strong risk-management controls, clear customer protections, robust compliance systems, and safe operational frameworks, according to the OCC. The agency stated that institutions will be monitored through standard supervisory processes to ensure digital asset activities meet safety expectations applied across the banking sector.

Why it matters

The new guidance follows a series of policy shifts by U.S. financial regulators in 2025. The OCC, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have withdrawn earlier restrictive statements that discouraged banks from engaging in digital asset services, according to regulatory filings.

The policy changes reflect efforts to modernize banking regulations and respond to institutional demand for compliant cryptocurrency infrastructure, regulatory observers noted. The guidance allows banks to intermediate cryptocurrency trades without taking balance-sheet risk, potentially expanding integration between traditional finance and digital assets.