FDIC Lets Banks Engage in Crypto Activities Without Prior Approval

On March 28, 2025, the FDIC issued guidance clarifying that FDIC-supervised banks may engage in permissible crypto-related activities, including custody services and stablecoin-related functions, without first obtaining prior approval from the agency. The move reversed 2022 guidance that had required banks to notify regulators before engaging in such activities, and it followed a similar shift by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency earlier the same month. The change mattered because it removed a supervisory checkpoint that had been designed to let regulators assess money-laundering, cybersecurity, and consumer-protection risks before banks entered the crypto space, at a time when the administration was simultaneously rolling back crypto enforcement and its own family members held expanding crypto business interests. Industry groups welcomed the change as ending an informal “debanking” of crypto firms. Consumer and anti-money-laundering advocates warned that removing the pre-clearance step could let banks take on crypto exposure faster than regulators can monitor it, especially amid a broader wave of deregulatory moves benefiting the sector.