Adoption greenlight? OCC issues regulatory guidelines for stablecoins
- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published a letter issuing stablecoin regulation guidelines.
- Guidance is reserved only for stablecoins held in hosted wallets controlled by a trusted third party.
In a significant step for crypto adoption, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published a letter, approving national banks' and federal savings associations' authority to hold "reserves" on behalf of customers who issue stablecoins.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks announced:
National banks and federal savings associations currently engage in stablecoin-related activities involving billions of dollars each day. This opinion provides greater regulatory certainty for banks within the federal banking system to provide those client services in a safe and sound manner.
In the letter, the OCC clarifies several questions regarding the application of stablecoin-related bank activities. The letter notes that the guidance is reserved only for stablecoins held in hosted wallets controlled by a trusted third party. Unhosted wallets that were influenced by the individual user are not included in the guidelines.
The letter notes:
The due diligence process should facilitate an understanding of the risks of cryptocurrency and include a review for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering.
The reserve account could be structured as either deposit of the stablecoin issuer or as deposits of the individual stablecoin holder.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
