Trump has again made a move. This time, he signed an executive order requiring six major financial regulatory agencies to, within 90 days, review and sort out the rules that are getting in the way of financial technology companies obtaining bank charters and cooperating with regulated banks—and then, within 180 days, come up with specific simplification steps. The Federal Reserve is being asked rather than ordered: it has 120 days to assess whether to allow non-bank institutions such as crypto firms to directly open Fed accounts and connect to the FedNow real-time payment network.
In plain terms, the goal is to pry open the gap a bit wider for crypto companies to enter the traditional payments ecosystem. The Fed’s 2022 master account framework left all discretion to individual reserve banks, with no fixed timeline, so new players basically had to wait. This order calls for a transparent application process and results within 90 days.
Payment rails have always been a hurdle that’s hard to get around. Naturally, this order is a positive signal for the industry. However, the executive order only kicks off a review—it doesn’t mean the rules will change immediately. The specifics will still depend on the Fed’s report and Congress’s stance. Crypto-related matters have once again been tied to the political calendar, so traders would do well to stay alert.
In plain terms, the goal is to pry open the gap a bit wider for crypto companies to enter the traditional payments ecosystem. The Fed’s 2022 master account framework left all discretion to individual reserve banks, with no fixed timeline, so new players basically had to wait. This order calls for a transparent application process and results within 90 days.
Payment rails have always been a hurdle that’s hard to get around. Naturally, this order is a positive signal for the industry. However, the executive order only kicks off a review—it doesn’t mean the rules will change immediately. The specifics will still depend on the Fed’s report and Congress’s stance. Crypto-related matters have once again been tied to the political calendar, so traders would do well to stay alert.