On November 23, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published Interpretative Letter No. 1179¹ (the Letter) clarifying the authority of national banks and federal savings associations (Banks) to engage in certain cryptocurrency, distributed ledger, and stablecoin activities. The Letter also addresses the nature of the interaction between state law and the National Bank Act for purposes of OCC oversight of trust and fiduciary activities of national banks, including national trust banks. The Letter reflects the intent of Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu to reset expectations regarding the expansion of Bank activities related to cryptocurrency. Concurrently, the OCC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the Agencies) released a joint statement alerting the industry of their intent to provide additional guidance in the coming months concerning certain activities related to cryptoassets conducted by banking organizations. The guidance is expected to address topics such as legal permissibility, expectations for safety and soundness, consumer protection, application of capital and liquidity standards, and compliance with existing laws related to such activities.

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