According to 4 Yue 27 days an official blog post , Bank of America ( US Bank ) will be working with a secondary custodian unnamed, to provide a new encryption currency hosting products.
Christine Waldron , chief global strategy officer of Bank of America Global Fund Services , told The Block , “We have made a choice and are currently advancing operational integration, risk and compliance processes.” However, when will these services go live? There is no set timetable yet.
In terms of asset management scale, Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the country. The company’s blockchain and encryption business can be traced back to 2015 . These services have expanded in recent months, thanks in large part to the new policy of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ).
In mid- 2020 , the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under the leadership of the former Acting Administrator Brian Brooks authorized the National Bank located in the United States to custody crypto assets . Subsequently, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency began to issue national trust licenses to cryptocurrency companies . There are currently three crypto companies: Protego , Anchorage and Paxos. The company obtained the license.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has successively introduced a series of policies favorable to the crypto industry. 2020 Nian 9 Yue 22 news, according to the new guidelines of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal chartered banks and federal savings associations can be a stablecoin reserves held by the publisher. Brian Brooks said in a statement that the guidelines provide banks in the federal banking system with greater regulatory certainty, enabling them to provide services to customers in a safe and reliable manner.
This year 1 month, Comptroller of the Currency also said in a letter of explanation, said the Commonwealth Bank and Federal savings associations can use the common block chain and a stablecoin for settlement. The letter pointed out that banks and savings associations can now run crypto nodes and use related stablecoins for “permitted payment activities.” This means that banks can use public blockchains to verify, store, record, and settle payment transactions, as long as they comply with existing laws. OCC further explained that banks can use stablecoins to facilitate customers’ payment transactions on the independent node verification network, including the issuance of stablecoins and the exchange of stablecoins for legal tender.
However, the leadership of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has changed and is currently facing political pressure (especially from the Democratic Party of Congress), which requires the cancellation of the “legacy policy” of Brooks and its predecessor Joseph Otting .
At the beginning of December last year , Maxine Waters, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee , stated in a letter to the new president that he recommended that President-elect Biden revoke or supervise all cryptocurrency-related guidance issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, that is, allowing the National Bank to be stable The currency issuer holds reserves and provides users with cryptocurrency custody services. Each of these suggestions will wipe out Brian Brooks ‘ work. In the section on financial stability, Waters wrote that the Financial Stability Regulatory Commission should publish their analysis of the development and existing regulatory framework surrounding Crypto assets and distributed ledger technology.
In the same month, the US State Banking Supervisory Association ( CSBS ) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia District Court against the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create new state bank licenses for non-bank companies. CSBS President and CEO John W. Ryan said: “If OCC is allowed to create special purpose non-banking licenses, it will redefine the entire banking system, bring new systemic risks, and provide any federal agency that can exceed its legal limits. Set a dangerous precedent. We believe that the court will pay as much attention as we do and rule that the OCC illegally attempts to expand its authority.”
Regarding this concern about encryption services, Waldron said: “We are moving forward in accordance with the latest guidelines. This is the most important.”
While announcing the upcoming launch of custodial services, Bank of America also revealed that it has recently conducted the latest round of strategic financing for crypto infrastructure company Securrency . Bank of America also stated that it has been selected to manage NYDIG ‘s Bitcoin ETF (if approved by regulatory agencies), based on the bank ‘s long-standing private fund service relationship with NYDIG .