Crypto and the Fed: State of Crypto
This past week saw incremental, but potentially important steps.
Skinny charter
The narrative
U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders this past Tuesday. One directed the broader government to update existing regulations to better integrate crypto into payment systems, while the other directed the Treasury Department and regulators to strengthen Bank Secrecy Act regulations. The next day, the Federal Reserve Board published its updated proposal for a skinny master account, laying out more detail about its approach to granting crypto firms access to its payment rails.
Why it matters
The crypto industry’s integration with the broader federal payments system is certainly a goal for the industry at large. Last week’s proposals may bring that a step closer.
Breaking it down
The Federal Reserve’s proposal on Wednesday updates its skinny master account request for information first published in December 2025, laying out how the central bank envisions granting fintech and crypto firms access to its payment rails without requiring them to be full fledged, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency-chartered banks.
The fintech-focused order directed federal regulators to review their existing policies to evaluate how they regulate financial institutions and identify rules that might block fintech firms from partnering with regulated entities.
The order also directed the Fed to review how it handles uninsured depository institutions and their access to payment accounts.
Part of that review includes having the Federal Reserve member banks evaluate if they can independently grant payment accounts to entities.
The Fed cannot necessarily do all of this on its own; Congress may need to pass legislation further detailing what types of entities may be qualified for an account.
The BSA-focused order directs the U.S. Treasury Department and regulators to issue guidance to banks and other entities.
“My Administration will not tolerate national security and public safety risks caused by illicit cross-border financial activity, nor will it permit risks to our financial system posed by the extension of credit or financial services to the inadmissible and removable alien population,” Trump’s order said.
