U.S. Treasury’s OCC Approves Crypto Custodian Anchorage As The First Crypto Bank

U.S. Treasury’s independent bureau - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - has recently approved cryptocurrency custodian Anchorage to become the first “digital asset bank” in the United States.

The Anchorage Digital Bank will be the first Federally Chartered crypto bank in the country. It also marks an important milestone towards regulatory developments for the safekeeping, management and trading of digital assets.

The OCC that works under the treasury department has been in charge of keeping the banks safe and competitive. The bank has also issued three interpretative letters laying the groundwork for the banks to custody digital currencies as well as participate in blockchain networks and become the payment providers using the tech.

In a statement issued, the bank regulator notes: In granting this charter, the OCC applied the same rigorous review and standards applied to all charter applications. By bringing this applicant into the federal banking system, the bank and industry will benefit from the OCC’s extensive supervisory experience and expertise. At the same time, the Anchorage approval demonstrates that the national bank charters were provided. under the National Bank Act are broad and flexible enough to accommodate evolving approaches to financial services in the 21st century”.

Anchorage is a digital asset platform that specializes in providing different crypto-based services like custody, staking, and trading. Back in 2019, financial payments giant Visa co-led a $40 million funding round in Anchorage.

The Anchorage Digital Bank released an official statement saying: “Having a national bank charter places Anchorage Digital Bank firmly on the same regulatory footing as other national banks in the country. Most immediately, it puts first-of-its-kind, sub-custody services within reach for any traditional financial institution that wishes to give its clients access to digital assets”

In another development, a leading smart banking technologies provider Movencorp announced its partnership to NYDIG, a institutional financial services provider for Bitcoin. The two players will join hands to offer turn-key Bitcoin-related products and services “such as the ability to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, savings accounts that pay interest in Bitcoin, and a Bitcoin credit card rewards program.”

The announcement notes that “the offering will be powered by NYDIG’s world-class digital asset platform for secure custody, execution, and reporting services that meets the highest regulatory, audit, and governance standards”.

Post these news, Bitcoin (BTC) price has once again jumped back above $38,000 with its market cap moving above $700 billion.