According to the source, the OCC chief warned that banks that block crypto custody risk irrelevance to clients seeking digital-asset services, aligning with existing OCC guidance that permits national banks to offer crypto custody (source: the source post; source: OCC Interpretive Letter 1170, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, July 2020). OCC letters 1172 and 1174 further permit banks to hold stablecoin issuer reserves and to use independent node verification networks and stablecoins for payments, outlining clear pathways for bank participation in digital assets (source: OCC Interpretive Letter 1172, OCC, Sept 2020; source: OCC Interpretive Letter 1174, OCC, Jan 2021). Banks must still obtain supervisory nonobjection before engaging in these activities and address accounting treatment under SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, both of which have constrained some large banks’ crypto custody offerings (source: OCC Chief Counsel Interpretive Letter 1179, OCC, Nov 2021; source: SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, U.S. SEC, Mar 31, 2022). For traders, confirmation of bank-led custody or stablecoin reserve services would expand qualified custodial options for institutions and enable mandate-compliant participation in BTC and ETH markets because banks are qualified custodians under the SEC Custody Rule (source: 17 CFR 275.206(4)-2, SEC Custody Rule; source: OCC Interpretive Letter 1170, OCC, July 2020). Monitor regulatory filings and bank disclosures for new crypto custody launches and for updates from U.S. banking regulators that could accelerate or slow institutional adoption (source: Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking Organizations, Jan 3, 2023).