{"id":45457,"date":"2025-07-14T15:54:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/?p=45457"},"modified":"2025-07-14T15:54:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:54:19","slug":"us-regulators-allow-banks-custody-over-bitcoin-and-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/news\/us-regulators-allow-banks-custody-over-bitcoin-and-crypto","title":{"rendered":"US Regulators Allow Banks Custody Over Bitcoin And Crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p>Federal banking regulators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.occ.gov\/news-issuances\/news-releases\/2025\/nr-ia-2025-68a.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued<\/a> a joint statement today emphasizing that banks involved in bitcoin and crypto-assets-related custody and other activities by following existing laws and maintaining strong risk controls. The statement, issued by the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC, clarifies that it does not introduce new rules but reminds banks of their obligations when handling <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/guides\/what-is-bitcoin\">bitcoin<\/a> and other crypto on behalf of customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">JUST IN: \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Federal Reserve and US regulators issue statement saying banks are allowed to custody Bitcoin &amp; crypto. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2PZOtHhZCH\">pic.twitter.com\/2PZOtHhZCH<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BitcoinMagazine\/status\/1944844337361121713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 14, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBanking organizations may provide safekeeping for crypto-assets in a fiduciary or a nonfiduciary capacity,\u201d the document stated. \u201cBanking organizations that provide crypto-asset safekeeping in a fiduciary capacity must comply with 12 CFR 9 or 150, as applicable, state laws and regulations, and any other applicable legal provisions, such as the instrument that created the fiduciary relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agencies emphasize that safekeeping bitcoin and other crypto-assets, mainly through control of customers&#8217; cryptographic keys, requires strong <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/guides\/how-to-keep-bitcoins-safe\">cybersecurity<\/a>, operational expertise, and full legal compliance. Banks offering these services must be prepared to protect against risks such as key loss, cyberattacks, and unauthorized asset transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They also note that bitcoin and other crypto safekeeping may demand specialized staff, secure infrastructure, and constant monitoring of evolving technologies. Regulatory requirements like anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and OFAC sanctions still apply.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLike all other banking activities, crypto-asset safekeeping relationships are subject to applicable Bank Secrecy Act\/anti-money laundering (BSA\/AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) requirements,\u201d said the document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The statement also warns that banking organizations should conduct a full risk assessment before engaging in bitcoin and other crypto safekeeping. This includes evaluating the nature of different crypto-assets, the technology used, and the legal obligations involved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSubject to the terms and conditions in the customer agreement, a banking organization is responsible for the activities performed by the sub-custodian\u2026\u201d the document mentioned. \u201cConducting due diligence before selection of a sub-custodian is an important part of sound <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/markets\/managing-bitcoin-price-volatility\">risk management<\/a>, and includes evaluating the effectiveness of the sub-custodian\u2019s cryptographic key-management solution, including polices, processes, and internal controls, as well as its adherence to standard safekeeping risk management practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The OCC, Fed, and FDIC reaffirm that banks may offer custody and safekeeping of crypto-assets\u2014such as Bitcoin\u2014under existing risk management expectations.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vSKE7HQDID\">https:\/\/t.co\/vSKE7HQDID<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Michael Saylor (@saylor) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/saylor\/status\/1944841741300855233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 14, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC warn banks that safekeeping bitcoin and other crypto-assets demands strong cybersecurity, operational expertise, and full legal compliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3788,"featured_media":45461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4378],"tags":[76,519,207,5891,5890],"class_list":{"0":"post-45457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-bitcoin","9":"tag-fdic","10":"tag-federal-reserve","11":"tag-occ","12":"tag-us-regulators"},"author_data":{"id":3788,"name":"Oscar Zarraga Perez","nicename":"oscarperez","avatar_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cropped-Oscar-Zarraga-Perez-96x96.jpg"},"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/US-Regulators-Allow-Banks-Custody-Over-Bitcoin-And-Crypto-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}