US OCC Commissioner: There is no reason to treat banks and crypto companies differently.

Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), stated that cryptocurrency companies seeking U.S. federal banking licenses should be treated the same as other financial institutions. Speaking at a blockchain conference on Monday, he noted that new license applicants in the digital or fintech sector can be seen as offering novel services to national trust banks, and that custody and safekeeping services have been conducted electronically for years. He argued that differentiating digital assets is unreasonable and that banks should not be confined to past technologies and businesses.