Visa-backed Anchorage becomes the first federally chartered crypto bank

Visa-backed Anchorage announced on Wednesday that it has become the first-ever cryptocurrency firm to receive a federal charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

In a statement, the OCC said it has decided to approve after a “rigorous” review process. As part of the agreement, Anchorage will maintain certain capital, liquidity, risk management, and other requirements.

Anchorage Digital Bank will be the first federally chartered bank of its kind. It will provide digital asset custody services to institutional investors as well as to other banks that want to offer such services to their customers.

Significant move for the broader cryptocurrency industry

Despite the nation’s thriving fintech sector, however, major U.S. banks have proven particularly adverse to working with cryptocurrency companies. This is largely due to an unclear regulatory direction. Now with the approval, U.S. banks and other traditional financial companies can use Anchorage as a means to offer Bitcoin and other digital currencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, etc. to their customers.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees the federal banking system said:

By bringing this applicant into the federal banking system, the bank and industry will benefit from the OCC’s extensive supervisory experience and expertise.

Recently OCC has been embracing cryptocurrency. Last year, the agency permitted banks to use stable coins. And earlier this month, the agency blessed banks to use blockchain networks to conduct payments and settle transactions.