- The Federal Reserve has dropped its requirement for banks to notify regulators before engaging in crypto-related activities, aligning with recent moves by the FDIC and OCC to ease restrictions from post-FTX policies.
- This marks a rollback of the 2023 joint guidance that discouraged banks from touching crypto, a shift widely seen as part of the dismantling of “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” under President Trump.
- The Fed still hasn’t addressed the issue of master accounts for crypto-native banks like Custodia and Kraken Financial—meaning full access to core banking services remains out of reach for now.
In a move that’s been a long time coming—and maybe a bit overdue—the Federal Reserve announced late Thursday that banks won’t need to give advance notice anymore when jumping into crypto or stablecoin stuff. From here on out, the Fed says it’ll treat these ventures like any other banking biz. No red tape, no special disclosures. Just… normal oversight.
Wild, right?
This shift comes after similar signals from the FDIC and the OCC—basically, all the major U.S. banking regulators are now singing from the same hymn sheet.
Rewind: When Crypto Was Radioactive to Banks
Cast your mind back to January 2023. FTX had just blown up. Everyone was spooked. And those same three agencies—Fed, FDIC, and OCC—jointly put out a statement that all but said: Hey banks, don’t touch crypto. It’s messy. And if you do, let us know first.
They literally called holding or issuing crypto “highly likely” to be unsafe and unsound banking practice. That line? Yeah, it’s officially gone now. Rescinded. Deleted. Goodbye.
What Changed?
Politics, mostly. Since retaking office, President Trump has been pushing hard to undo what the crypto industry’s been calling “Operation Chokepoint 2.0”—an alleged attempt under the Biden administration to choke crypto companies out of the banking system entirely.
A flood of complaints from crypto founders claimed they were “debanked” just for working in the space. Couldn’t get accounts. Couldn’t move money. No access to basic services. Harsh.
Now, all three agencies—the Fed, FDIC, and OCC—have formally backed away from that kind of posture. But here’s the kicker: many people weren’t sure the Fed would actually go through with it. Not with four Democrats currently on the board, and Jerome Powell being, well, famously unpredictable.
But they did. And that’s… notable.
What’s Still Stuck? Master Accounts
Okay, don’t break out the champagne just yet.
This change doesn’t touch the master account problem. And for crypto-native banks like Custodia or Kraken Financial, that’s still the main battleground. Without a master account, you can’t really act like a bank—you can’t settle payments directly with the Fed, offer core financial services, or scale nationwide. It’s like having a license to drive, but someone took the keys.
And for years now, the Fed has consistently refused to grant those accounts to any crypto-focused bank. This latest announcement? Doesn’t fix that.
Still, It’s a Clear Shift
Despite the fine print, this is the first time in a while it actually feels like the Fed is warming up to digital assets—or at least stepping away from the “no, don’t touch that” rhetoric. It puts crypto banking back on the menu. And not just for the heavyweights. Smaller, innovative banks now have a clearer runway to experiment without fearing regulatory smackdowns every time they whisper “blockchain.”
One crypto banking advocate (who asked not to be named) said it best:
“We weren’t sure they’d do it. Honestly thought Powell and the board might stall. But this? This is a real step in the right direction.”
