US Bancorp is relaunching its Bitcoin (BTC) custody services for institutional investment managers following recent regulatory developments in the US.
US Bancorp Resumes Bitcoin Custody For Fund Managers
On Wednesday, US Bancorp announced that it has relaunched its offering of crypto custody services after more than three years, following the removal of a Biden-era guidance that prevented financial institutions from providing these services.
US Bank’s crypto custody service was originally announced in 2021 in partnership with fintech company NYDIG. However, the program was paused in early 2022 after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121), which required custodians to hold capital on the balance sheet for these activities.
The rule was rescinded earlier this year, following the US President Donald Trump’s executive order for “Strengthening American Leadership In Digital Financial Technology.” Since then, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Federal Reserve have also removed the “reputational risk” examination from supervisory guidelines.
Stephen Philipson, head of wealth, corporate, commercial, and institutional banking at US Bank, affirmed that “following greater regulatory clarity, we’ve expanded our offering to include bitcoin ETFs, which allows us to provide full-service solutions for managers seeking custody and administration services.”
According to the announcement, the bank will now offer its Bitcoin custody services as an early access program to Global Fund Services clients, intended for institutional investment managers “with registered or private funds who seek a secure safekeeping solution for bitcoin.”
“We had the playbook, and it’s sort of opening it up and executing it again,” Philipson said, adding that they will likely scale more broadly after assessing demand and marketplace development.
The bank is reportedly exploring how the use cases of crypto and stablecoins may fit into its wealth, payments, and consumer banking requirements. Additionally, the financial institution will also consider offering custody services for additional cryptocurrencies if they meet the bank’s standards.
Similarly, Citigroup is exploring plans to offer crypto custody and payment services. The bank is also studying custody offerings for crypto-linked exchange-traded products, which could include Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
US Regulatory Shift Continues
US regulators have also announced new efforts to continue the Trump administration’s efforts to make America “the crypto capital of the world.” On Tuesday, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a joint statement clarifying their views on spot crypto trading in the US.
According to the statement, the regulators view that SEC and CFTC-registered exchanges are not prohibited from facilitating the trading of certain spot commodity products under existing law, setting the stage for traditional financial venues to offer these products.
The regulatory agencies noted that they are ready to engage with market participants, support consideration by their respective agencies, and address related questions.
CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham stated that “under the prior administration, our agencies sent mixed signals about regulation and compliance in digital asset markets, but the message was clear: innovation was not welcome. That chapter is over.”
Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins affirmed that “market participants should have the freedom to choose where they trade spot crypto assets,” adding that “the SEC is committed to working with the CFTC to ensure that our regulatory frameworks support innovation and competition in these rapidly evolving markets.”
