Coinbase Global (COIN.O) has renewed its call for U.S. banking regulators to clarify or revise their stance on banks offering cryptocurrency services and potentially partnering with companies in the digital assets sector.
This move from the crypto exchange comes as the industry lobbies lawmakers for a regulatory framework to support the sector’s growth. Many traditional U.S. banks have avoided digital asset firms, citing a lack of regulatory clarity.
“For the last several years, U.S. bank regulators have unilaterally and undemocratically barred banks from offering crypto services,” said Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad on social media platform X.
The industry has been actively lobbying, including donating millions of dollars to support Donald Trump’s return to the White House, with the aim of making cryptocurrency regulation a high priority for the new administration. This follows years of enforcement actions that companies have criticized as excessive.
Shirzad also sent a letter to top U.S. banking regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), urging them to allow banks to offer services related to the crypto sector. The OCC declined to comment, and the Fed and FDIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While crypto companies allege that U.S. bank supervisors have actively tried to cut them off from the traditional financial system, regulators deny this claim.
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission created a task force to develop a regulatory framework for crypto assets. Trump, who has stated he will be a “crypto president”, has also appointed former PayPal executive David Sacks as his “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar”.
The administration is expected to reshape U.S. policy on digital currency, but U.S. bankers remain cautious about cryptocurrencies.
