The first crypto bank with a federal licence appears in the US
OCC granted Anchorage conditional approval for a national trust charter, which qualifies it for banking
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approval for a national trust charter to the US crypto custodian, Anchorage.
Under the licence, Anchorage can practise banking to become the first national cryptocurrency bank in the United States.
According to the statement, Anchorage must meet the following criteria to ensure the continuity of the licence:
"As an enforceable condition of approval, the company entered into an operating agreement which sets forth, among other things, capital and liquidity requirements and the OCC's risk management expectations."
Anchorage has confirmed that it will be guided by all US regulations for national credit institutions.
Company representatives said obtaining the licence marked an important stage in the development of the digital asset market. Licensing would allow large banks and other traditional financial institutions to use Anchorage's products, for example, offering cryptocurrency products to their customers.
The Anchorage representatives also expressed a sense of pride in being involved in setting the standard. They said:
"Crypto deserves a bank, and we are immensely proud of being approved as the one to set the standard."
Acting OCC chief, Brian Brooks, said earlier on Wednesday that banks and financial services more broadly would shift to being blockchain-based and that fiat would ultimately be defunct.
“I think what’s necessary is the creation of crypto banks that are able to hold stablecoins that reflect the value of a fiat currency,” he said, “but that doesn’t change the native asset, and you need to have real cryptocurrencies over here where they interact directly with each other, with no need to ever off-ramp, fiat will ultimately be a legacy thing of the past."
