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ARTICLE · 09 MAY 2025

OCC Confirms National Banks May Execute And Settle Digital Asset Trades

Winston Taylor
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On May 7, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published Interpretive Letter 1184 ("IL 1184"), which confirms that national banks may execute...

United StatesTechnology
Logan Payne
Logan Payne
Kimberly A. Prior
Kimberly A. Prior

On May 7, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published Interpretive Letter 1184 ("IL 1184"), which confirms that national banks may execute and settle digital asset trades on behalf of their customers, so long as the bank acts in an agency capacity and the activity is conducted in a safe and sound manner.1 National banks, however, would not be permitted to act as a trading counterparty or take principal positions in digital assets.

This development reinforces the OCC's position as the most forward-looking U.S. federal banking regulator on digital asset matters and underscores the OCC's continued commitment to enabling bank participation in digital asset markets within the boundaries of prudential oversight.

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