The Federal Reserve, alongside other US banking agencies, issued a joint statement on 14 July 2025 setting out their expectations for banks that hold crypto-assets in custody on behalf of clients. The guidance represents a notable shift in tone from the more cautious and at times restrictive posture that banking supervisors had previously adopted towards bank involvement in digital-asset services.
The statement made clear that banks may provide crypto safekeeping services, provided they put in place appropriate risk management frameworks. By establishing that position jointly and publicly, the agencies sought to remove a degree of uncertainty that had left many institutions reluctant to enter the space despite growing client demand for institutional-grade digital-asset custody.
A CHANGE IN SUPERVISORY POSTURE
The shift in approach is significant because US banking regulators had, in recent years, issued a series of advisories and interagency statements that were widely read by banks as discouraging active participation in crypto-related activities. Those earlier communications emphasised the risks — operational, legal, and reputational — associated with digital assets, and some institutions interpreted the tone as a de facto signal to stand aside. The July 2025 joint statement moves the conversation toward a framework for participation rather than a presumption against it.
Crypto-asset safekeeping refers to the holding of private keys and the maintenance of custody records on behalf of institutional and retail clients. It is distinct from trading or issuing digital assets, which carry different regulatory implications. By clarifying that custody specifically can be conducted within the existing bank regulatory framework, the agencies offered a cleaner on-ramp for well-capitalised institutions that have been waiting for that confirmation before committing resources to build out the necessary infrastructure.
The Federal Reserve's involvement alongside other agencies — which may include the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, given their typical participation in such interagency communications — underscores that the guidance reflects a co-ordinated supervisory view rather than the position of a single regulator. That co-ordination matters for banks whose supervision may span more than one agency.
RISK MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS CENTRAL TO GUIDANCE
The conditionality attached to the permission is important: banks are expected to demonstrate that their risk management infrastructure is adequate for the specific characteristics of crypto assets, which include technology risk, key management risk, and the potential for rapid price movements in assets held in custody. Institutions that cannot demonstrate those controls would not be considered compliant simply by citing the joint statement as authorisation to proceed.
The statement arrives at a moment when the broader US policy environment around digital assets is evolving rapidly. Congress had been working on stablecoin legislation and other digital-asset frameworks, and the regulatory agencies' move on custody can be read as part of a wider effort to bring clarity to a sector that has long operated in a zone of supervisory ambiguity. For banks weighing investment in custody platforms, the July statement reduces one category of regulatory risk, even as operational and market risks remain.
The Federal Reserve published the joint statement on its website on 14 July 2025. Banks are expected to engage with their primary supervisors when planning to introduce or expand crypto custody services, allowing regulators to assess readiness on a case-by-case basis rather than through a blanket approval process.