Regulating Crypto

The ABA, BPI and SIFMA are among the groups asking Sacks to make it easier for banks to engage in crypto-related activity.

Despite crypto-friendly signals coming from Washington, getting a bank account still appears to be a challenge for crypto businesses and investors.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said they would try to pass crypto and stablecoin bills in the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman is widely seen as the president's most likely choice for vice chair for supervision, a position soon to be vacated by Michael Barr. But while Bowman is the administration's most straightforward option, it's not the only one being considered.

The Federal Reserve chair said banks are well situated to handle risks related to crypto customers, but added that regulatory scrutiny of banks' direct engagement with the assets will be greater than for simple custody arrangements.

President Donald Trump and the first lady released their own cryptocurrencies. Experts compare them to Beanie Babies and dogecoin.

Bankers applauded the news, which means that it's possible for crypto-custody efforts at depository institutions to scale.

The executive order also calls for regulations to be written for the digital asset industry.

Several crypto-friendly voices join the Senate Banking Committee from Nebraska and Ohio, while Democrats leave a banking policy expert off the House Financial Services Committee.

Lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee touched on a number of issues overlapping with banking and the Securities and Exchange Commission, including SAB 121 and stablecoin legislation.