U.S. Banking Regulators Issue Crypto ‘Safekeeping’ Statement, Not Pushing New Policy

The Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking agencies issued another statement on the proper handling of crypto assets on Monday, outlining the appropriate policies that need to be followed for banks engaging in the “safekeeping” of customers’ digital assets.

The statement sent out from the Fed, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency made clear that these latest considerations do not represent a new policy push.

The trio of agencies set out to clarify that properly keeping such assets involves “controlling the cryptographic keys associated with the crypto-asset in a manner that complies with applicable laws and regulations.”

Apart from cryptographic key management, the seven-page memo outlined some of the demands of money-laundering controls, risk-management oversight, software knowledge and audits.

“This statement discusses how existing laws, regulations and risk-management principles apply to this activity, and does not create any new supervisory expectations,” the agencies said.

The U.S. banking regulators have had a tumultuous relationship with the digital assets space, having issued guidance during the previous administration of President Joe Biden that constrained bankers from easily doing business with crypto firms. But the regulators under President Donald Trump have rolled back that guidance.

The latest sentiments from the agencies come at the start of the U.S. House of Representatives’ self-described Crypto Week in which the lawmakers are expected to approve multiple crypto bills in an effort toward establishing formal U.S. digital assets regulations.

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