OCC boss says ‘no justification’ to judge banks and crypto differently

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Jonathan Gould says crypto companies should have a path to supervision in the banking system, which can evolve to embrace blockchain.

Crypto companies seeking a US federal bank charter should be treated no differently than other financial institutions, says Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Gould told a blockchain conference on Monday that some new charter applicants in the digital or fintech spaces could be seen as offering novel activities for a national trust bank, but noted “custody and safekeeping services have been happening electronically for decades.”

“There is simply no justification for considering digital assets differently,” he added. “Additionally, it is important that we do not confine banks, including current national trust banks, to the technologies or businesses of the past.”

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