Catenaa, Friday, April 25, 2025-The Federal Reserve on Thursday rolled back prior guidance that discouraged banks from engaging in cryptocurrency and stablecoin activities, marking a pivotal shift in federal policy toward digital assets.
The central bank rescinded its 2022 directive requiring banks to pre-notify regulators of any crypto-related plans and reversed its 2023 supervisory requirements on stablecoin activities. “The Board will no longer expect banks to provide notification and will instead monitor banks’ crypto-asset activities through the normal supervisory process,” the Federal Reserve said in a statement.
In coordination with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Fed also withdrew earlier warnings about the risks of fraud and scams in the crypto space that had effectively chilled banking sector involvement.
The announcement signals a softening of the federal stance on crypto amid increasing pressure from industry players and changing political leadership. “Banks are now free to begin supporting bitcoin,” said Michael Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy, in a post on X.
While the Fed emphasized it will work with other agencies to assess if new guidance is needed to support innovation, Thursday’s move drew praise from the crypto community, which has long argued that overregulation stifles technological growth.
The rollback is expected to open new avenues for banks to engage in crypto custody, payments, and other blockchain-related services, offering potential legitimacy to an industry seeking deeper integration with traditional finance.
