Summary
FDIC press release announcing Financial Institution Letter FIL-7-2025, which rescinds FIL-16-2022 and clarifies that FDIC-supervised institutions may engage in crypto-related activities without receiving prior FDIC approval. FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill framed this as “turning the page on the flawed approach of the past three years.”
Key Points
- FIL-16-2022 (Biden era) required banks to get prior FDIC approval before engaging in crypto activities — now rescinded.
- New guidance: FDIC-supervised banks can engage in permissible crypto-related activities if they “adequately manage the associated risks.”
- FDIC will continue engaging with the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
- FDIC will work with other banking agencies to replace interagency crypto guidance.
- This is described as “one of several steps” the FDIC will take to define a new crypto approach.
Newsletter Angles
- This is the regulatory regime change in action, months before Crypto Week — the FDIC cleared the way for bank crypto engagement before Congress formalized it.
- “Turning the page on the flawed approach of the past three years” is the explicit anti-Biden framing from a financial regulator.
- This predates the GENIUS Act by months — suggests executive branch regulatory reversal was running in parallel to (and enabling) legislative action.
Entities Mentioned
- Federal Reserve — mentioned as coordination partner for new guidance
- Donald Trump — Working Group on Digital Asset Markets referenced
- David Sacks — Working Group chaired by Sacks
Concepts Mentioned
- Stablecoin Legislation — regulatory foundation for GENIUS Act context
- GENIUS Act — FDIC guidance sets the stage for formal stablecoin regulation
- Regulatory Weaponization — Biden-era prior approval requirement framed as weaponization of regulation against crypto
- Crypto Week — pre-legislative regulatory groundwork
Notes
Important pre-Crypto Week document showing executive branch regulatory rollback preceding congressional action. FDIC rescinding prior-approval requirement was a significant practical step for banks considering crypto services.