OCC Confirms Bank Authority to Hold Certain Crypto-Assets as Principal for Purposes of Paying Crypto-Asset Network Fees

On November 18, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Interpretive Letter No. 1186, in which the OCC concluded that a national bank’s proposal to pay network fees (otherwise known as “gas fees”) to facilitate permissible crypto-asset activities and to hold, as principal, amounts of crypto-assets on balance sheet necessary to pay network fees for which the bank anticipates a reasonably foreseeable need is permissible. The Interpretive Letter states that the bank involved intends to engage in activities that the OCC had previously determined to be permissible for national banks under Section 24 (Seventh) of the National Bank Act or that are permitted under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), including crypto-asset custody services, acting as nodes on a distributed ledger technology network and engaging in certain stablecoin activities, buying and selling assets held in custody at a customer’s direction, and purchasing and selling stablecoins as principal to facilitate payment activities, including transactions in payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act.

The Interpretive Letter also concludes that the bank could hold amounts of crypto-assets as principal necessary for testing otherwise permissible crypto-asset-related platforms, whether internally developed or acquired from a third party. The OCC specifically noted the bank’s representations that it would perform a risk and compliance assessment designed to ensure that (1) the manner in which it conducts the proposed activities is consistent with sound risk management practices and aligned with the bank’s overall business plans and strategies and (2) the bank will be able to conduct the proposed activities in a safe and sound manner as mandated by law and consistent with OCC regulations and guidance for crypto-asset-related activities. The release of the Interpretive Letter follows an earlier action by the OCC this fall conditionally approving an application to charter a de novo national bank in which the OCC stated that “[h]olding limited amounts of crypto-assets as principal to pay gas fees is convenient or useful to a bank’s permissible crypto-asset custody services” and that “such activity is permissible as incidental to the business of banking.”

On November 25, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and OCC (collectively, the Agencies) issued a final rule that modifies the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (eSLR) standards applicable to US Global Systemically Important Bank (GSIBs) and subsidiary depository institutions. The final rule reduces disincentives from engaging in lower-risk, lower-return activities, such as intermediating in the US Treasury market by recalibrating the eSLR standards to reduce instances of their becoming binding capital requirements.

On November 25, the Agencies proposed a rule that would reduce capital requirements for institutions electing the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) framework by lowering the CBLR requirement from 9% to 8%. The rule would apply to banks with less than $10 billion in assets (and that meet the other eligibility criteria) that elect to use the CBLR framework. If adopted, the revised CBLR framework would expand the number of community banks eligible for simpler leverage-based capital treatment, potentially easing regulatory burden. Comments must be received by January 30, 2026.

On December 4, the Federal Reserve issued a request for public comment on potential strategic changes to the check-collection and processing services provided by the Reserve Banks, including whether to continue, scale back, upgrade, or wind down those services in the face of steadily declining check usage, increasing check-fraud rates, growing digital payment adoption, and substantial investments required to maintain current infrastructure. Comments are also sought regarding how changes to service levels, reliability, or cost could impact the payments system and their operations. Comments must be received within 90 days from the request’s publication in the Federal Register.

On November 17, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its examination priorities for fiscal year 2026, signaling a return to “core” supervisory themes under new leadership, with emphasis on retail-investor protection, investment-adviser fiduciary duties, compliance-program effectiveness, broker-dealer financial responsibility, market-conduct risks, and cross-cutting areas such as cybersecurity, AI-driven tools, operational resilience, and third-party/vendor risk. Notably, the SEC removed crypto-asset examinations as a standalone priority and folded private-fund oversight into broader adviser/fund reviews rather than treating private funds as a separate risk category. To view Goodwin’s latest client alerts on the implications for broker-dealers and for investment advisers and registered investment companies, please see our recent industry insights below.

On November 24, the OCC adopted new “Community Bank Minimum BSA/AML Examination Procedures,” narrowing the scope of BSA/AML examinations for qualifying community banks. The framework, effective February 1, 2026, allows examiners to rely more heavily on independent testing, carry forward prior-cycle results for training and compliance-officer assessments where risk profiles remain stable, and, in certain cases, limit transaction testing to analytical reviews. The changes are intended to tailor oversight to the lower risk profiles of smaller institutions, reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, and increase supervisory efficiency.

Also effective as of November 24, the OCC announced it will no longer conduct annual data collections from community banks via the Money Laundering Risk (MLR) System. The OCC concluded that it can adequately assess money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk through less burdensome supervisory tools. While the OCC emphasized that community banks must continue to comply fully with BSA/AML obligations, the discontinuation of MLR submissions reflects the agency’s broader effort to streamline supervisory expectations for lower-risk institutions.

Also on November 24, the OCC issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on community banks’ reliance on core service providers and other essential third-party vendors as well as common challenges, such as contract terms, pricing and billing practices, oversight capabilities, data access, system modernization, and conversion obstacles. The RFI invites suggestions for supervisory or policy changes that could reduce friction and strengthen community banks’ competitiveness. Comments are due January 27, 2026.

On December 2, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould signaled certain priorities for the OCC in testimony before the US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services. In his statement, Comptroller Gould noted that the OCC intends to consider tailoring regulatory requirements for community banks, address access to banking services, improve the OCC’s operations, and clarify enforcement standards and use of supervisory tools, including with respect to “Matters Requiring Attention” identified by examiners.