In a speech today, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould dismissed concerns raised by bank advocates and others about allowing digital asset firms to establish national trust banks, saying that limiting such activity would “undermine the dynamic and evolving nature of the federal banking system.”
In recent months, digital asset issuers such as Circle, Ripple and Paxos have applied with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for trust charters. The American Bankers Association and others have asked the OCC to postpone the applications, arguing there are significant policy and legal questions as to whether the applicants’ proposed business plans involve the types of fiduciary activities performed by such banks.
Gould – speaking at a Blockchain Association conference – said his agency has received 14 de novo charter applications since the start of the year, both from entities engaged in traditional banking activities and in novel or digital asset activities. He took issue with arguments that applications for the latter deserved additional scrutiny.
“Although the proposed activities of some new charter applicants, specifically those in the digital or fintech spaces, could be viewed as new activities for a national trust bank, custody and safekeeping services have been happening electronically for decades,” Gould said. “For example, banks, including current national trust banks, routinely hold rights by electronic means to company shares in custody for their customers. There is simply no justification for considering digital assets differently.”
Gould added that when it comes to crypto activities, the OCC is hearing from traditional banks that want to engage with the technology, and it welcomes such initiatives. “All of this reinforces my confidence in the OCC’s ability to effectively supervise new entrants as well as new activities of existing banks in a fair and even-handed manner,” he said.
