This week in the U.S., “cryptocurrency bank licenses” saw two developments at once.
1. On 10/2, the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), arguing that the OCC issued nationwide trust bank charters to crypto companies beyond the authority granted under the National Bank Act, and that it allowed these companies to bypass some of the obligations traditionally required of banks (according to American Banker).
2. On the same day, Anchorage Digital was reported to have laid off about 17%, citing “cost pressure across the entire industry.”
It received the OCC nationwide trust bank charter in 2021. After Tether invested in February this year, its valuation was $4.2 billion; in 2023, it also laid off about 20%.
Seen together, the two stories are like this: just as the “license door” opened, traditional banks wanted to shut it again; the companies that obtained the licenses didn’t end up doing nearly as well as people might have imagined.
Next, we’ll see how the OCC responds—and whether the court will halt the approval of new charters.
1. On 10/2, the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), arguing that the OCC issued nationwide trust bank charters to crypto companies beyond the authority granted under the National Bank Act, and that it allowed these companies to bypass some of the obligations traditionally required of banks (according to American Banker).
2. On the same day, Anchorage Digital was reported to have laid off about 17%, citing “cost pressure across the entire industry.”
It received the OCC nationwide trust bank charter in 2021. After Tether invested in February this year, its valuation was $4.2 billion; in 2023, it also laid off about 20%.
Seen together, the two stories are like this: just as the “license door” opened, traditional banks wanted to shut it again; the companies that obtained the licenses didn’t end up doing nearly as well as people might have imagined.
Next, we’ll see how the OCC responds—and whether the court will halt the approval of new charters.