US Banks Get Green Light From OCC on Crypto Intermediation

US banks may step into the role of intermediaries on crypto transactions under new guidance by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, further clarifying the ways that traditional lenders can legally engage with digital assets.

The agency’s memo said banks can act as brokers, buying assets from one counterparty while simultaneously entering into a transaction to sell those assets to another counterparty. Lenders would not hold on to any crypto assets in inventory as part of the process, the OCC said, “except in rare circumstances.”

In those cases, the asset is typically sold as soon as possible. ...