OCC Officially Ends Operation Choke Point 2.0 With Approval of Five National Digital Currency Banks

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given the green light to five national digital currency banks. The bold move significantly negates Operation Choke Point 2.0  observed during the Biden administration, which heavily unbanked crypto projects.

OCC Approves Five National Digital Currency Banks

According to the announcement, the OCC issued a conditional approval of five national digital currency banks. As such, the five new national digital currency banks join 60 other institutions with trust bank charters. 

Among the five institutions that received conditional approval of national trust banks include:

• First National Digital Currency Bank.

• Ripple National Trust Bank.

• BitGo Bank & Trust.

• Fidelity Digital Assets.

• Paxos Trust Company.

“New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry, and the economy. The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and supports a modern economy,” Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency, noted.

Major Leap for Crypto Liquidity

The approval of five national digital currency banks is a major milestone for the crypto industry, which suffered during the previous administration. Moreover, the collapse and closure of Signature Bank, Silvergate Bank, Synapse Financial Technologies, and Custodia Bank heavily impacted crypto liquidity during the past few years. 

However, under President Donald Trump, the crypto industry has thrived. The conditional approval of the five national digital currency banks has coincided with the ongoing Fed’s monetary policy change, which involves liquidity injection through its Quantitative Easing (QE) and interest rate cuts.