PATRICK LANDMANN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

By Alexandra Kelley
Several senators are asking for a rescission and more comprehensive updates on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s digital asset guidance, citing volatile market conditions and greater risk for financial institutions.
An independent office within the Treasury Department, the OCC oversees banking activity and ensures regulatory compliance. Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu was asked to limit cryptocurrency transactions within the banking system by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI.
“In light of recent turmoil in the crypto market, we are concerned that the OCC’s actions on crypto may have exposed the banking system to unnecessary risk, and ask that you withdraw existing interpretive letters that have permitted banks to engage in certain crypto-related activities,” the letter reads. 
Lawmakers specifically targeted a series of interpretive letters the OCC previously issued to banks that allowed them to engage in digital currency transactions––provided a bank can prove the transactions are financially sound. 
Letters 1170, 1172, 1174, and 1179 all permit banks to engage in cryptocurrency transactions in what lawmakers say is “unfettered” and “problematic” behavior. They reference the recent volatility in cryptocurrency markets, namely the fluctuating prices of digital coins, as the key reason warranting more careful oversight.
“We are concerned that the OCC has failed to properly address the shortcomings of the preceding interpretive letters and the risks associated with crypto-related banking activities, which have grown more severe in recent months.”
The senators ask for the withdrawal of the OCC’s letters regarding cryptocurrency transaction permissions followed by coordination with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve to implement a stronger consumer protection framework regarding cryptocurrencies. 
The letter also asks for a complete list of banks regulated by the OCC that are currency providing cryptocurrency deposit and holding services, total dollar amounts of cryptocurrency custodies currently deposited in participating banks, and other information surrounding digital currency transactions. 
A spokesperson for the OCC told Nextgov that while the OCC does not comment on congressional correspondences, Hsu has previously advocated for a strong, coordinated federal approach to prevent risks associated with cryptocurrency banking. 
“To the extent the OCC’s prior communications have been interpreted as tacit encouragement to engage in crypto activities, the forthcoming releases will clarify that safety and soundness is paramount,” he said in remarks before the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. 
The federal government has been increasingly keen on exploring regulations for the booming cryptocurrency market to prevent broad destabilization in the financial system. 
While regulation is typically met with pushback by industry players, some crypto firms welcome the oversight. Georgia Quinn, general counsel at the first OCC-approved crypto trading platform Anchorage Digital, said that more regulations ensure a safer digital currency industry. She also said that rescinding the OCC’s letters permitting cryptocurrency transactions would decentivize firms like Anchorage from seeking federal charters.
“Recent calls for the OCC to withdraw its crypto guidance for banks would result in fewer institutions seeking federal banking charters, and fewer consumer protections as a result,” she said in a statement. “If we truly want to protect consumers, we need to pave a workable path forward for regulated institutions to provide crypto services, which was the very intent of the OCC’s guidance.”
NEXT STORY: FEC to Vote on Google’s Plan to Keep Campaign Emails Out of Spam
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies – Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings

Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Help us tailor content specifically for you:

source

Write A Comment