The American Bankers Association opposes bank licenses for cryptocurrency custodians - Details Trusted editorial content reviewed by industry-leading experts and experienced editors. Advertising Disclosure Several American Bankers Associations oppose the issuance of bank licenses to crypto custodians, citing the need for public opinion on such industry policy changes, among other reasons. This development comes as the cryptocurrency industry gains more recognition in the U.S., following a series of encouraging policies signed by U.S. President Trump. Related Reading: Clear interpretation of cryptocurrency custody: Guidance jointly released by U.S. banking regulators ## Cryptocurrency custody is not a fiduciary responsibility and does not have bank status: On July 17, five banking associations, including the American Bankers Association (ABA), the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), the National Bankers Association (NBA), the American Credit Union and the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA), submitted a joint statement to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), calling for a thorough review of recent applications for national bank trust charters by several cryptocurrency custodians. In particular, the letter mentioned applications by National Digital TR CO, Fidelity Digital Assets, First National Digital Currency Bank, and XRP National TR Bank, all seeking OCC approval to operate as national banks. According to the relevant banking associations' letter, these applications and their anticipated business lack sufficient public information to support their claims for a bank license. These American banks explained that the circulation of redundant information regarding these applications hinders the public from conducting appropriate reviews, making it impossible to provide accurate public comments. Therefore, they urged the OCC to release more information about these cryptocurrency custodians' business plans and to extend the deadline for public discussion. Additionally, these associations stated that custody services do not meet the fiduciary responsibilities conferred by the national bank trust charter under existing OCC regulations. They explained that granting bank licenses to such businesses would mark a significant change in OCC policy, which also requires a public review period. However, the association emphasized the need to limit national bank trust charters to institutions that have fiduciary responsibilities, noting that granting approval of these applications solely to cryptocurrency custodians would have significant policy, operational, and commercial impacts on the U.S. banking industry. The statement reads: If applicants can successfully establish themselves as national trust banks that do not primarily provide trust services, but instead offer traditional banking services like payments, then, as the association anticipated in 2021, other companies will follow, which will pose substantial risks to the U.S. banking and financial system. Related Reading: JPMorgan plans to explore stablecoins, CEO Jamie Dimon ## Overview of the crypto market As of the time of writing, the total market capitalization of the entire crypto market is $3.82 trillion, down 1.03% in the past day. The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin reports a market share of 61.1%, maintaining its unparalleled dominance. However, the recent price decline and the surge in prices of other coins indicate that this dominance may weaken in the future, potentially ushering in an altseason.