Advocacy group defends OCC charters amid bank lawsuit
Crypto charter approvals face a legal challenge as CCI backs the OCC’s decisions See what the ICBA lawsuit could mean for crypto banking, competition, and payments
The Crypto Council for Innovation has defended the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency after the Independent Community Bankers of America filed a lawsuit challenging the agency’s approval of charters for crypto firms.
CCI chief executive Ji Hun Kim said the lawsuit was an effort to block national trust charters, competition, and payments innovation in financial services. The group said it supports the OCC’s approvals and conditional approvals for several cryptorelated firms.
The ICBA argues that the OCC granted the charters without the safeguards usually required for banks, including capital and liquidity standards, consolidated supervision, and FDIC insurance. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The dispute comes as the OCC has approved or conditionally approved applications from firms including World Liberty Financial, Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos. Some lawmakers have also criticized the decisions, especially the approval tied to World Liberty Financial.