Golden Observation丨Interpretation of OCC's intention: Can Bank of America hold privacy coins?

Golden Finance Blockchain, October 7th   The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has taken a new step in cryptocurrency regulation, aiming to help banks deal with privacy currency business. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) acting head Brian Brooks confirmed that the regulator wants to clarify whether privacy coins including Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) are allowed to be held, traded, or lent by banks. asset.

However, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Brian Brooks did not further explain when he would announce the relevant clarifications. At present, overseas media have contacted the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for verification. Whether the blockchain can be used as the basis of the payment network.

Golden Evening News | A list of important news on the evening of September 19: 12:00-21:00 Keywords: Russia, Turkey, Mask Network

1. The Central Bank of Russia: will delay payment to cryptocurrency exchanges to curb impulsive investment;

2. Turkish President: Turkey is "at war" with cryptocurrencies;

3. Opinion: Bitcoin is similar to the concept of energy-backed currency proposed by Ford 100 years ago;

4. Mask Network has received strategic support from the Filecoin development company Protocol Labs;

5. Zhongguancun: 10,000 digital RMB red envelopes will be distributed at the "Technology North" conference;

6. Data: The 24-hour transaction volume of the NFT project GalaxyEggs reached 3919ETH, ranking first;

7. Cardano founder: Cardano's new function should be called "programmable validator" instead of "smart contract";

8. Data: The Ethereum network has currently destroyed 322,209.95 ETH worth $1.1 billion. [2021/9/19 23:36:59]

Brian Brooks, who previously served as general counsel for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, said:

Golden Morning News | May 14 Overnight Important Updates: 21:00-7:00 Keywords: miners, blockchain underlying technology, ETH2.0, USDT additional issuance

1. After BTC is halved, some miners have turned to BCH and BSV.

2. The CME Bitcoin futures May contract closed up 4.5%.

3. Secretary of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee: Grasp the planning and implementation of a number of blockchain and other facilities.

4. Shenzhen encourages technology companies to cooperate with innovative institutions to jointly develop the underlying technology of the blockchain.

5. ETH2.0 project leader: The multi-client approach is one of the reasons for the delay in the launch of ETH2.0.

6. The new infrastructure theme fund that submits application materials is aimed at blockchain and other fields.

7. Reddit may launch an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency for users.

8. Tether issued an additional 100 million USDT on the TRON network.

9. Bitcoin rose slightly, with a daily high of $9,398 and a low of $9,050.01. [2020/5/14]

"In the early stages, regulators seemed to be biased towards the state of the cryptocurrency industry, people tended to take the most conservative and strict approach to risk, and many of what would later prove to be the greatest inventions of all time were delayed because of this approach And now, hoping not to repeat the same mistakes, the OCC has decided to take up the challenge head-on, unleashing the power of technology while being mindful of the legal risks.”

Jinse Finance data broadcasts the global cryptocurrency market value of RMB 1,912.222 billion: Jinse Finance data broadcast, according to AIcoin data, the global cryptocurrency market value is 1,912.222 billion yuan, of which BTC ranks first, with a market value of 722.8 billion yuan, accounting for 37.79%; ETH ranked second with a market value of RMB 327.6 billion, accounting for 17.13%; XRP ranked third with a market value of RMB 138.9 billion, accounting for 7.26%. [2018/6/15]

In July, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency opened the door for federal savings associations and national savings banks that want to hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of their clients. The regulator issued a notice on July 22 allowing national banks and federal savings associations of all sizes to custody cryptocurrencies, stating that such custody services are a “modern form” of traditional banking activities related to custody services. The resolution, which comes about a month after the OCC sought public comment on such agencies' digital activities, including in the areas of digital assets and blockchain, marks a major shift in the U.S. banking industry's relationship with the emerging cryptocurrency ecosystem . Several banks, including U.S. Bank and PNC, have since responded that they may be interested in offering encrypted custody and other services to customers.

Golden Finance Live Report Yijian Block Liu Tiancheng: Blockchain Provides "Technical Endorsement" for Small Businesses and Solve Core Enterprise Concerns: Jinse Finance Live Report Yijian Tianshu Technology CTO Liu Tiancheng at today's Blockchain Education Innovation Forum and According to the “Blockchain +” course conference, suppliers, especially small suppliers, like blockchain very much, because blockchain has a good “technical endorsement” and makes it easier for small businesses to finance. Data encryption and authorized access solve the concerns of core enterprises and enable their basic data to be effectively used. In the supply chain, core enterprise data can be the center, a small blockchain can be established, and a "trusted data pool" can be established. [2018/4/21]

In addition to the announcement statement, the OCC issued an explanatory letter outlining the policy shift. Some of the regulatory requirements in the letter, though unnamed, are notable, particularly as they relate to the powers of national banks to provide cryptocurrency custody services to clients. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency stated:

Since digital currencies only exist on the blockchain or distributed ledger where they are stored, the tool does not actually own the digital currencies. Instead, by using unique cryptography, having the right to transfer a particular unit of digital currency between parties means that a bank 'holds' digital currency on behalf of a client, effectively possessing the encrypted access key to that encrypted currency unit . In addition, the letter of explanation cites existing OCC regulatory guidance, which explains that banks may hold a variety of assets as custodians, including some that are unique and difficult to value, and that bank custodial activities include the following: Assets transferred electronically.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also states:

Institutions that have been engaged in safe deposit and custody activities for a long time can provide cryptocurrency custody services, which is a form of authorization that allows national banks to carry out traditional banking operations electronically, including credit-granting and non-credit-granting capabilities. Banks that provide cryptocurrency custody in a non-trustworthy capacity essentially provide custody for cryptographic keys to control and transfer customers' cryptocurrencies.

In September, the international law firm Perkins Coie said that regulated financial institutions need to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering regulations when supporting privacy coins. It fits well, because as early as last July, Coin Center, the largest cryptocurrency industry think tank in the United States, petitioned the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to allow banks to support cryptocurrencies and accept stablecoins pegged 1:1 to a "single fiat currency." . At the end of the month, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued updated guidelines again, allowing the National Bank of the United States and the Federal Savings Association to now hold reserves for stablecoin issuers, and stablecoin issuers can place assets in the reserve account of the National Bank of the United States to Ensure that the issuer has sufficient assets to back the stablecoin with custodial wallets. For the reasons stated above, the OCC concluded that a national bank may hold such stablecoin “reserves” as a service to the bank’s customers.

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency supervises nearly 1,200 U.S. banks, U.S. Federal Savings Associations, and branches of overseas banks in the United States. These institutions operate as much as 70% of banking business in the United States. The agency has a positive attitude towards the cryptocurrency industry very important for market development.

First, it signals a growing regulatory acceptance of stablecoins. The OCC is signaling to banks that stablecoin activity is legal and that reserve accounts will receive the same federal protections as any other account. This may incentivize banks to aggressively pursue stablecoin businesses, thereby expanding their client base and their share of the crypto market.

Second, since one of the main current use cases for stablecoins is to capture yield from DeFi platforms, this may be the incentive that traditional finance needs to start looking at the ongoing innovation of blockchain financial applications with an open mind. New types of savings products could attract new customers, which in turn could accelerate the transformation of the traditional banking industry, which could also encourage further innovation by new stablecoin issuers. For those working in the decentralized finance industry, it may seem like stablecoin issuers are everywhere. However, from the outside, most stablecoin issuers are either small, offshore, or both. Aside from members of the CENTER Consortium, the USDC issuer founded by Coinbase and Circle in 2018, few large U.S. companies have commercial activity in the space.

Jonathan Gould, Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, concluded that the regulator has actually been studying the cryptocurrency industry since 2018 (and possibly even worse). In addition to saying that banks can directly provide custody services for cryptocurrencies, it also opens the door for crypto companies to provide services, but it is unlikely that banks will start offering both services immediately, because banks still need to ensure that they have proper risk management practices, otherwise Before they can actually provide these services, they have to make sure they are legally ready.

Part of this article is compiled from cryptonews

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