ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Without action from NCUA, credit unions will fall behind when it comes to their ability to purchase digital assets, CUNA wrote in a letter to the agency in response to its Request for Information on digital assets and related technologies.
“Credit unions should be able to offer consumers an entry point to purchase and use digital assets. Credit union members trust their credit union to provide necessary financial services, and the ability to provide new financial services products and delivery channels is needed for credit unions to fulfill their mission,” CUNA stated. “Moreover, credit unions’ focus on financial literacy and financial education can be extended to digital asset related products in order to help credit union members use these new products prudently.
“And as regulated entities, by law, credit union members receive robust protections not available when obtaining financial services from fintech and other providers with a business model designed to skirt regulations,” the letter adds.
CUNA further noted NCUA has not issued an opinion related to any credit union authority when it comes to providing digital asset-related services to credit union members, despite digital ledger technologies being developed in 2009 and the first bitcoins mined in 2009.
Two Other Issues
CUNA also called on NCUA to take action on to other issues:
- First, CUNA said there is a question around whether the Federal Credit Union Act (FCUA) or other legal or regulatory guidance provide authority for credit unions to provide digital asset custody and related custodial services for their members. The trade group said it believes FCU Act and its implementing regulations provide credit unions with “incidental powers” that likely encompass the provision of custody services for digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies.
- Second, answer the question of whether NCUA has the authority to change its regulations to allow CUSOs to provide cryptocurrency-related services? CUNA noted the NCUA board acknowledged it should be flexible in its approach to expanding permissible CUSO activities when approving the 2021 final CUSO rule.