The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), representing top Wall Street firms like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, is reportedly weighing a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The potential legal challenge targets the OCC's recent move to grant national trust charters to cryptocurrency and fintech companies.
Banking groups express concern that these charters allow crypto firms to offer bank-like services nationwide without facing the same stringent regulatory oversight as traditional banks. Several crypto entities, including Circle, Ripple, and Paxos, have received conditional approval for these charters.
BPI previously warned that allowing firms to operate with a "lighter regulatory touch" while offering bank-like products could blur the definition of a bank, increase systemic risk, and undermine the national banking charter's integrity.
This development follows Kraken's acquisition of a Federal Reserve master account, which the BPI also criticized. The American Bankers Association has urged the OCC to slow charter approvals amid unfinished stablecoin and digital asset regulatory frameworks, pointing to past collapses like FTX and Celsius as reasons for caution.