OCC says national banks may provide cryptocurrency custody
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency clarified that national banks and federal savings associations may provide cryptocurrency custody services.
OCC Interpretive Letter 1170, published July 22, concluded that safeguarding the cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency is a modern form of traditional bank custody activity. The letter allowed federally chartered banks to offer such services subject to ordinary risk-management and legal requirements.
For Bitcoin, custody is unusually consequential because possession of private keys is what controls the asset. Allowing national banks to hold those keys created a clearer legal path for established financial institutions to offer Bitcoin custody to clients rather than leaving the service entirely to crypto-native firms.
The letter did not compel banks to enter the business or change Bitcoin's protocol. It changed the regulatory perimeter around who could offer a crucial institutional service.