OCC says major banks are easing digital asset restrictions, with limits

For years, crypto companies trying to open a bank account often felt like they were applying to an exclusive club with no posted rules. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency now says the door is opening, at least partway. The OCC reports that major banks have eased some restrictions on digital asset businesses. It also says those banks still may restrict some of them. What the OCC actually reviewed The regulator examined nine of the largest national banks in the country. The list includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank. The review covered how these institutions treated digital asset businesses from 2020 through September 2025. The OCC released its findings on October 14. The scope was large. Examiners went through nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of bank documents. The core finding: over that period, these banks put restrictive policies in place that limited the services available to digital asset entities. The main stated driver was concern about financial crime, particularly anti-money laundering risk. Crypto was not alone on the restricted list. The report places digital ...