WASHINGTON—National banks may legally conduct riskless principal transactions involving crypto-assets under new guidance issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The agency’s Interpretive Letter #1188 confirms that banks can buy a crypto-asset from one counterparty and immediately resell it to another customer, so long as the bank does not take market risk and the trades offset each other automatically.
The OCC said these transactions are the functional equivalent of long-permitted brokerage activities in securities, derivatives, and other financial instruments. Because the bank holds the crypto-asset only momentarily—and only in rare cases such as a settlement failure—the agency considers the activity part of the “business of banking” under 12 U.S.C. § 24(Seventh). The letter also notes that such activity is a logical extension of crypto-custody services national banks are already permitted to offer.
In practical terms, the guidance allows banks to intermediate crypto trades for customers, giving them the option to transact through a regulated financial institution instead of unregulated exchanges. The OCC said this could help customers manage exposure to pseudonymous counterparties and improve operational safeguards, while enabling banks to expand service offerings in a fast-growing market. The risks—primarily counterparty and settlement risk—are similar to those banks already manage in conventional riskless-principal securities trades.
The letter emphasizes that banks engaging in these transactions must do so safely and soundly, maintaining appropriate risk controls and compliance with all applicable laws. As crypto activities continue to evolve, the OCC said it will examine banks’ involvement as part of routine supervision and noted that different facts or structures could lead to different conclusions in future rulings.