US banks to ease restrictions on cryptocurrencies, allowing them to buy and sell at customer's request

On May 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a new interpretive letter clarifying that national banks and federal savings institutions (collectively, "banks") may buy and sell crypto assets held by them at the direction of their customers, and may use third parties for custody and execution services if they have an appropriate third-party risk management system. Permitted services include trade execution, recordkeeping, valuation, and tax reporting.

The interpretive letter reaffirms the OCC's previous Interpretive Letter No. 1170, which clarifies that banks have the authority to provide crypto custody services in a fiduciary or non-fiduciary capacity. The OCC has...