25-4-2025 – The US Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors declared on Thursday that it is rolling back its earlier directives that had cautioned banks against engaging with cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. This decision marks a departure from the restrictive stance outlined in a 2022 supervisory letter, which mandated banks to pre-notify the Fed of any crypto-related activities, as well as from 2023 guidelines imposing strict oversight on stablecoin operations.
The Federal Reserve, in tandem with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has also rescinded two prior statements that highlighted risks such as fraud and scams in the crypto sector, which had cast a shadow over banks’ involvement with digital assets. Moving forward, the Fed will forgo requiring banks to submit advance notifications, opting instead to oversee their crypto activities through routine supervisory processes, the announcement clarified. The Board further signalled its openness to fostering innovation, noting it would collaborate with other agencies to explore whether new guidance could bolster crypto-related activities.
The crypto community greeted the news with enthusiasm, viewing it as a step toward a more collaborative federal stance on digital assets. However, Michael Saylor, a prominent figure from Strategy, tempered expectations on X, cautioning that the announcement does not equate to banks being granted carte blanche to dive into Bitcoin support. This nuanced pivot by the Federal Reserve underscores a delicate balance between encouraging innovation and maintaining rigorous oversight in an evolving financial frontier.