Fed teases master accounts for crypto banks: Law Decoded, Aug. 15-22

cointelegraph.com:

Last week, the United States Federal Reserve Board turned its eye to banks and crypto, making (or promising to make) several clarifications, one of them pretty long-awaited. It announced that the final version of guidelines for reserve banks to access Reserve Bank master accounts and services is ready. 

For crypto, these guidelines hold a prospect of “the most stringent review,” to which non-federally insured institutions that do not have a holding company subject to Fed oversight would be exposed. It is still unclear whether the crypto banks will finally get access to master accounts under the new guidelines and how long they shall wait for it.

At the same time, the Fed made itself clear that the traditional banks that intend to deal with crypto assets couldn’t do it without a closer consultation with regulators. Before taking such a decision, it is recommended to check state and federal laws and notify the Fed supervisory contacts in advance.

It was not only the U.S. financial regulator that had a busy last week. The ECB laid the foundation for the criteria it would be considering when harmonizing the licensing requirements for crypto in Europe. Specifically, it will consider crypto firms’ business models, internal governance and “fit and proper” assessments which apply to licensing other companies. In addition, it will rely on national Anti-Money Laundering (AML) authorities and the financial intelligence units of respective countries to provide data necessary to assess potential risks.

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