Blockchain Legal Resource

Following President Trump’s Executive Order on Digital Assets, which instructed agencies to streamline and rationalize regulation of the digital asset space in a way that is technology-neutral, federal agencies have been responding. Below we summarize recent activities by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

On March 7, 2025, the OCC, which supervises national banks, issued Interpretive Letter 1183 regarding Certain Crypto-Asset Activities for national banks. IL 1183 withdraws several previous interpretive letters that limited national banks’ ability to engage in various crypto-asset activities. Instead, the OCC sought to “ensure that bank activities will be treated consistently, regardless of the underlying technology.”

On March 28, the FDIC took similar action and issued Financial Institution Letter 7-2025 to establish a process for banks engaging in crypto-related assets. FIL 7-2025 replaces prior guidance, FIL 16-2022, and affirms that FDIC-supervised institutions may engage in permissible activities, including activities involving new and emerging technologies such as crypto-assets and digital assets, provided that they adequately manage the associated risks. In contrast to FIL-16-2022, which established a prior notification requirement specific to crypto-related activities, FIL 7-2025 clarifies that FDIC-supervised institutions may engage in certain permissible crypto-related activities without receiving prior FDIC approval.

Also on March 28, the CFTC staff announced the withdrawal of its prior staff advisory entitled Review of Risks Associated With Expansion of DCO Clearing of Digital Assets. In withdrawing the prior guidance, the CFTC staff noted that its regulatory treatment of digital asset derivatives does not vary from its treatment of other products. Instead, the staff conducts its supervision of clearing activities and oversight of compliance with the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations regardless of the specific commodity underlying relevant contracts.