OCC Says Digital Asset Firms Should Be Able to Apply for National Bank Status

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said companies engaged in legally permitted activities such as digital assets and emerging technologies should have a path to apply for national bank status. According to Odaily, OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould said regulators had effectively blocked new bank applications for more than a decade, but that period has ended. The OCC said it received 40 applications for new banks in the past 18 months and that many complete applications have been decided within 120 days.