The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has ended a 2022 consent order against crypto-native custodian and bank Anchorage Digital.
Summary
- US OCC drops 2022 consent order against Anchorage Digital.
- Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley said the decision was a key milestone for the industry.
- U.S. regulators, including OCC, Fed, and FDIC, have eased restrictions on banks offering crypto services.
After over three years, the OCC, on Thursday, said it had dropped the order because “the safety and soundness of the bank and its compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence of the order.”
Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said the development was a milestone for both the company and the crypto industry at large.
“With our consent order lifted, we’ve proven definitively that crypto and federal oversight are not mutually exclusive,” he said, adding that this outcome sets “the standard for federally-chartered custody of digital assets.”
The consent order against Anchorage was issued in April 2022. The OCC cited Anchorage’s “failure to adopt and implement a compliance program” that met the expectations of the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering standards.
At the time, Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu stressed that all nationally chartered banks—whether involved in traditional or novel activities—must uphold the same level of regulatory compliance.
“When institutions fall short,” Hsu said, “we will take action and hold them accountable.”
Though Anchorage did not admit or deny the OCC’s findings at the time, it acknowledged that it had “already been working to strengthen the areas identified” and committed to “reinforcing a new, digital asset standard for internal BSA/AML controls and procedures.”
That was a critical test for a firm that had only recently broken new ground by becoming the first crypto-native company to receive a national bank charter from the OCC in 2021.
“We knew what we were signing up for,” McCauley said this week, reflecting on the company’s path since securing its charter. “The seeming impossibility of our federal charter mission lit a fire under us from the start.”
OCC and other regulators have softened their stance
Historically, the OCC has long been cautious around digital assets. But under the Trump administration, and crypto-friendly leadership, the agency has taken a softer stance. The agency’s current leadership, including Acting Comptroller Rodney Hood, has publicly referred to crypto as a “transformation” rather than a passing trend.
Hood has already confirmed that federally chartered banks could “engage in certain cryptocurrency activities responsibly,” including buying, selling, and providing third-party custody services, so long as institutions ensure proper oversight and risk management.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has eliminated the requirement for state banks to seek prior approval before engaging in crypto-related activities, and the FDIC has also clarified that banks could participate in the digital asset sector without needing upfront agency consent.
Even the SEC has loosened its grip and has deleted an earlier mandate that forced banks to list custodied crypto assets as liabilities.
