Cryptocurrencies

In a sharp escalation of the battle over the future of the dual banking system, the acting chief of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency suggested that states should defer to federal authority in supervising global money transmitters.

Appearing to support decentralized systems, the acting comptroller of the currency said on a podcast that "the ultimate public ownership of the payment rails is when you have a network, like the internet, of interconnected institutions and computers."

Responding to an unnamed bank that had sought the opinion, the regulatory agency issued an interpretive letter clarifying that an institution's custody services can be used for cryptographic keys and other digital currency-related assets.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks says financial institutions are needed more than ever to “sustain existing businesses” and help entrepreneurs rebuild. Meanwhile, reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, he says, can “unblock opportunities” in minority neighborhoods.

Competition over virtual currency could alter politics and global power structures, potentially to the detriment of the U.S., the author of "The Currency Cold War" argues.