WASHINGTON – President Trump has pledged to relax bank oversight and eliminate barriers to cryptocurrencies.
Accordingly, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a Financial Institution Letter (FIL) last Friday that provides new guidance for FDIC-supervised institutions engaging or seeking to engage in crypto-related activities.
The new guidance, FIL-72025, rescinds FIL-16-2022 and clarifies that FDIC-supervised institutions may engage in permissible crypto-related activities without receiving prior FDIC approval.
FIL-16-2022, issued April 7, 2022, declared that “Crypto-related activities may pose significant safety and soundness risks, as well as financial stability and consumer protection concerns.
Moreover, these risks and concerns are evolving as crypto-related activities are not yet fully understood.”
The FDIC “notes that there is little consistency in the definitions associated with many crypto assets and crypto-related activities, which makes it difficult to categorically identify these assets and activities,” the FIL continued.
“Further, the structure and scope of these activities are rapidly changing and expanding.
As a result of the dynamic nature of crypto-related activities, it is difficult for institutions, as well as the FDIC, to adequately assess the safety and soundness, financial stability, and consumer protection implications without considering each crypto-related activity on an individual basis.”
Therefore, via FIL-16-2022, all FDIC-supervised institutions that were considering engaging in crypto-related activities were asked to notify the agency of their intent “and to provide all necessary information that would allow the FDIC to engage with the institution regarding related risks.”
In contrast, FIL-7-2025 affirms that FDIC-supervised institutions may engage in permissible activities, including practices involving new and emerging technologies such as crypto-assets and digital assets, so long as they adequately manage the associated risks.
FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill said he expects FIL-7-2025 “to be one of several steps the FDIC will take to lay out a new approach for how banks can engage in crypto- and blockchain-related activities in accordance with safety and soundness standards.”
The agency will continue to engage with the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets and expects to issue further guidance in the future to provide additional clarity regarding banks’ engagement in particular crypto-related activities, Hill said.The FDIC also will work with other banking agencies to replace interagency documents related to crypto assets with further guidance or regulations.