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FDIC Clears Over 5,000 Banks to Engage in Bitcoin and Crypto Activities Without Prior Approval
FDIC Clears Over 5,000 Banks to Engage in Bitcoin and Crypto Activities Without Prior Approval
March 31, 2025
USA and Bitcoin
The FDIC has cleared banks under its jurisdiction to participate in Bitcoin and crypto-related activities without prior approval.
Another US regulator has eased earlier restrictions impeding banks from meddling with the digital asset industry. On Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a statement notifying banks under its purview to freely engage in crypto-related activities.
US Regulator Revokes Earlier Crypto Clause
The Financial Institution Letter FIL-7-2025, released on March 28, encourages banks to expand their borders into permissible digital asset and blockchain-related activities without sourcing prior FDIC approval.
This clears FDIC-supervised banks to service digital asset firms in the US as long as they implement necessary measures to manage risks associated with the industry, further broadening adoption.
The Friday statement rescinded an April 7, 2022, notification that aimed to impede interaction between financial institutions and the crypto industry. This previous letter mandated banks to notify the FDIC before engaging in any activity affiliated with cryptocurrencies.
For context, according to its official website, the FDIC supervises over 5,000 banks. This large figure reflects how important the announcement is for mainstream Bitcoin and crypto adoption in the United States.
Moreover, the ease follows a similar position from another US federal banking regulator. For context, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) cleared banks under its purview in early March to engage in crypto custody and distributed ledger validation, among others.
A Shift from a Flawed Digital Asset Approach
The FDIC acting chair, Travis Hill, stated that the new measure marked a regulatory shift from the obscure measures impeding a forward-thinking approach towards emerging technologies in the past three years.
Furthermore, he noted that the federal regulator will engage with the White House crypto working group to lay out a milder approach toward Bitcoin and crypto for banks.
Meanwhile, the announcement also caught the attention of David Sacks, the White House crypto and AI czar. In a tweet, he applauded the FDIC and Hill for taking a more pragmatic approach toward crypto, insisting it would flare the growing flame of mainstream adoption.
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