Gold Holdings Surpass U.S. Treasuries. Photo by BeInCrypto The OCC today conditionally approved five digital asset-oriented companies for national trust bank charters, signaling a measured but tangible expansion of crypto firms into the federal banking system. The decision challenges claims from parts of the banking industry that crypto cannot comply with regulatory standards. However, it also complicates the sector’s own narrative of a coordinated effort to cut it off from financial services. The Five F ...

A review of the nine largest national banks showed that they restricted or denied services to customers based on their lawful businesses, like digital assets, rather than financial risk, according to a preliminary report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The findings also revive long-running concerns around “Operation Choke Point,” a Justice Department initiative from 2013 that pressured banks to treat certain lawful industries as high-risk. Although the program officially ended in 201 ...