A Top Trump Regulator Quietly Gave Banks the Blessing to Trade Cryptos In the Final Days of the Past Administration
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One of ex-president Donald Trump’s top regulators quietly gave banks the blessing to trade cryptocurrencies in the last days of the Trump administration. The blessing passed without the necessary public exposure and could be the breakthrough that will turn the tide of cryptos in the USA in their favor. The decision never went public, but could open the door to a range of lucrative bank activities in the digital assets sector.
In the past few years, cryptocurrencies have been a red-hot topic. Everyone’s aware of that and so is the government. While there’s still no word on how banks would be able to regulate the crypto market, it’s clear that at least some regulators are aware of how great of a fit it would be for the economy.
The Banks’ Limited Access to Cryptos is “Not Desirable”
In the final days of Trump’s tenure in the White House, one of his top regulators sent a letter to central banks arguing for lower capital requirements when it comes to holding cryptocurrencies. The letter also said that the current state of cryptos and the banks’ limited access is not “desirable or sustainable”.
The current acting head of the national bank regulator is Michael Hsu. Before he took position, one internal legal decision by the previous administration played a role in the consideration of a legal charter application from a crypto bank. The previously unnamed trust bank is Paxos, even though it doesn’t hold crypto in its account.
So far, the OCC has decline to comment on the letter sent to banks by the previous staff. It’s clear that at least someone understands that cryptocurrencies are a viable alternative to traditional finance. The decision to keep things on the hush side never held ground, and now that people are aware that previous regulators had other ideas about the legal stance of cryptos in the USA, things may start changing.
A Massive Rising Market
The crypto market is rising day by day, reaching astronomical heights no one believed in. Earlier this year in January, the OCC chief anticipated what’s coming. He quietly sent a letter to banks urging them to start accepting cryptos and giving them the blessing to do so. A preliminary charter approval was for the crypto trust bank Paxos was given green light for it. It could spell the beginning of a crypto renaissance in the USA, although banks have stayed mum on the matter.
All around the world, new countries are joining the list of crypto supporters. El Salvador, Brazil, and many others have either adopted Bitcoin as legal tender or are in the process of doing so. If things are set to change in the USA, the OCC would have to make a decision whether crypto trading should be done by banks.
They’re not very happy about the matter, but we’re sure that regulators will find a way for crypto to thrive without hurting banks just like it was intended to.
