REGULATION | OpenReserve Gets Preliminary OCC Approval for a U.S. Blockchain Bank

OpenReserve, a blockchain financial institution backed by investors including

• Andreessen Horowitz,
• Jump Capital,
• Coinbase Ventures, and
• Wintermute Ventures

among others, has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national bank.

REGULATION | The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Clears National Banks to Act as Intermediaries in Crypto Transactions

The Salt Lake City, Utah company plans to build banking services around blockchain infrastructure, including

• on-chain settlement,
• treasury management,
• digital asset services,
• foreign correspondent banking,
• stablecoins, and
• tokenized deposits

through a full-service banking-as-a-service platform.

REGULATION | Minnesota State Signs Law Permitting Banks, Credit Unions to Offer Crypto Custody Services

According to the OCC:

“The Bank plans to form a wholly-owned stablecoin subsidiary to engage in issuance, custody, conversion, and payment of U.S. dollar-denominated reserve-backed stablecoins. An application for the subsidiary has not yet been filed.”

The proposed Bank, through its subsidiary, will offer, in a nonfiduciary capacity, custody services for digital assets (e.g., hosting wallets, custodying cryptocurrencies). The OCC has previously concluded that providing custody services, including cryptocurrency custody services, is a permissible activity for a national bank as part of or incidental to the business of banking under 12 USC 24 (Seventh).