American banking regulators have put together a roadmap that will see them offer clarity over the next year on a host of areas relating to crypto assets.
With mainstream financial services firms becoming increasingly interested in crypto, the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have been scrambling to get up to speed.
The watchdogs have been carrying out a series of "policy sprints" to get preliminary analysis on various issues regarding crypto-assets.
Now, the agencies are promising to offer greater clarity on whether some of these activities conducted by banks are legal and what is expected in terms of safety, consumer protection and regulatory compliance.
Throughout 2022, guidance will be given on:
- Crypto-asset safekeeping and traditional custody services
- Ancillary custody services
- Facilitation of customer purchases and sales of crypto-assets
- Loans collateralised by crypto-assets
- Issuance and distribution of stablecoins
- Activities involving the holding of crypto-assets on balance sheet