A storm is brewing between state regulators and the OCC over fintech licensing
A major network of state banking regulators is renewing its attack on the OCC's moves to register non-depository institutions. A leading association of state banking regulators is trying to put the U.S. national banking regulator in its place on the issue of fintech registration.Per a Dec. 22 filing, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, or CSBS, says the impending approval of Figure Technology's bank charter a bridge too far. Figure operates blockchain-backed lending and investment services. It announced its application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a charter at....
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Following the publication of a report by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on FinTech innovation in March, six blockchain businesses and advocacy groups have submitted public comments that shed light on how they’re hoping to inform and influence the regulator’s future activity in the sector. While positive about the OCC’s action to better understand the industry, the majority of the respondents used the forum to advocate for the regulator to create a national licensing regime that would ease barriers to entry for startups. Industry representatives argued that what is....
Friday, Ohio regulators banned Bitcoin-for-alcohol sales in the state. Ohio regulators impose a bizarre ban on bitcoin-for-alcohol transactions in the state. Nikhil Chand, founder of CoinNEO and Bitcoin Boulevard, patiently prodded state regulators about the legality of Bitcoin-for-alcohol transactions. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau gave him the go-ahead. But when the Ohio Department of Public Safety finally issued an official response, it was not what he had hoped for. "Bitcoin cannot be accepted as payment for alcohol in the State of Ohio," state regulators decided. The....
As an asset class, Bitcoin has gained a lot of retail interest, but when it comes to the big money, institutional investors haven't had the opportunity to really participate. But that's not because Wall Street isn't interested."There is not a hedge fund or institutional investor that doesn't have Bitcoin on their white board. They know about it, they're thinking about it. Some even have it in their personal accounts," explained Matthew Roszak, an investor from Tally Capital. "But in order for them to jump in the water, they need tools that they are more used to."There is a perfect storm....
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has released a draft proposal for regulating digital currency businesses. The membership group, which represents bank regulators from US state agencies but does not play a direct role in how states craft new financial rules, outlined a number of areas in which it believes companies that work with digital currencies should be supervised, including approaches to consumer protection, licensing and security. Overall, the framework echoes elements of the New York State Department of Financial Services' (NYDFS) BitLicense proposal. The draft....
State financial regulators in the US have received several inquiries about licensing bitcoin businesses, but few applications, it has been claimed. According to a report in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the commissioner of banks in Massachusetts, David Cotney, claimed his state has only received one application to license a bitcoin business to date, with other states reporting similarly low figures. This news comes after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) made a statement back in March that any company trading digital currencies would be regarded as a 'money transmitter'. In turn,....