by Jude Ayua  

 

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated in a recent interview with CNBC that the US banking sector would adopt cryptocurrencies for payments if regulators permit it. The interview was held during the 2025 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Moynihan about the US banking sector’s potential shift towards crypto, given President Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for digital currencies. Moynihan responded, “If the rules come in and make it a real thing that you can actually do business with, you’ll find that the banking system will come in hard on the transactional side of it.”

Although banks in the US have restricted customers to use crypto for retail transactions, the banks’ institutional trading and wealth management divisions have engaged in markets for bitcoin ETFs.

Some leading players in the sector are skeptical of cryptocurrencies. For example, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, has criticized bitcoin as a currency for criminals and fraudsters. This skepticism does not discourage players like Bank of America’s CEO Moyinhan.

Moynihan remarked, “If you go down the street here and you go in and buy lunch, right, if you can pay with Visa, Mastercard, a debit card, Apple Pay, etc., this would just be another form of payment.” He added, “We have hundreds of patents on blockchain already, we know how to enter the field.”

However, Moyinhan did not comment on the potential of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as an investment or store of value, noting it is “really a separate question.”

Read also: Michael Barr resigns as US Fed Vice Chair: Prospects for the crypto market.

Banking restrictions

While banks like Bank of America show readiness to adopt cryptocurrencies for payment, US regulators have been restrictive of such moves. In February 2023, the Federal Reserve Board issued a rule prohibiting digital assets from the banking sector, citing security concerns. 

The Federal Reserve’s “final rule” interprets section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act, stating that member banks are “presumptively prohibited” from holding most cryptocurrency assets. It requires banks to obtain formal approval to use US Dollar tokens in permissible transactions. The rule allows potential use of stablecoins, provided banks demonstrate secure practices and obtain a “supervisory nonobjection” from the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve further cited risks such as fraud, volatility, and legal uncertainties, emphasizing that digital assets lack fundamental economic value and pose challenges to security and risk management.

Despite the concerns and partial permission, the Federal Reserve’s rule suggests a restrictive approach to integrating cryptocurrencies into the banking sector. For example, its recent denial of Custodia Bank’s application for membership further proves that restriction. Meanwhile, in the Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller in a speech in February 2023, remaked, “We should not unduly limit the development and potential future uses of the positive features of the crypto ecosystem.”

Operation Chokepoint 2.0

Late 2024, there were wide claims of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s “debanking” of the crypto industry. The claims revealed that in 2022 and 2023, the FDIC advised banks to temporarily halt direct involvement in cryptocurrency through a series of letters.

The industry described the alleged debanking as an unfair treatment, comparing it to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” an early 2010s government initiative that targeted politically sensitive industries, restricting their access to banking services.

However, subsequent reports showed the FDIC did not mandate them to cease providing banking services to crypto firms.

Read also: Crypto development and potential uses should not be limited— U.S. Federal Reserve Governor.

Coinbase championed the cause to investigate the claims, hiring History Associates Incorporated, a research firm, to sue for the release of the FDIC’s supervisory “pause letters” it sent to unnamed banks after. The court ordered the FDIC to disclose the letters.

Coinbase published 23 “redacted” letters, claiming “the FDIC’s stance was clear: crypto-related banking activities were not welcome.” One of the letters Coinbase shared included explicit instructions:

“We respectfully ask that you pause all crypto asset-related activity. The FDIC will notify all FDIC-supervised banks at a later date when a determination has been made on the supervisory expectations for engaging in crypto asset-related activity.”

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, alleged on X that the disclosed letters indicate a “coordinated effort to stop a wide variety of crypto activity” and urged further Congressional investigation. Grewal also told CoinDesk, “The FDIC executed a deliberate plan to deny banking services to a legal American industry. That should alarm everyone.”

Responding to Grewal’s allegations, the FDIC published a 2022 internal memo outlining guidance for assessing banks’ involvement in cryptocurrency, distinguishing between direct engagement, such as custodial services, and traditional banking services for crypto clients, such as lending and deposits.

“Crypto-related activities may pose significant safety and soundness and consumer protection risks, as well as financial stability concerns,” the memo noted, adding such risks are still “evolving.”

The FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, stated in December that the agency does not “debank” crypto firms in terms of access to bank accounts, but direct crypto engagement by banks is a “subject of supervisory attention.”

Prospects for cryptocurrencies adoption in the banking sector

Similar to Bank of America CEO Moynihan’s hopes for the US banking sector’s adoption of cryptocurrencies, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire expressed anticipation that President Donald Trump will implement new rules in this regard.

A Reuters report 20 January quoted Allaire who said he expects executive orders “imminently” from the President to allow banks to hold crypto in portfolios, trade it, and offer crypto investments to clients.

During his campaign, Trump pledged to make the US  world crypto capital, establish a bitcoin reserve, and ease crypto regulation.

Trump is expected to issue executive orders to promote widespread adoption of digital assets and set up a Cryptocurrency Advisory Council. Although yet to sign all the expected executive orders, Trump signed an order on 23 January revoking President Joe Biden’s crypto executive order of March 2022. Trump’s new order bans central bank digital currencies and establishes the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets Markets. In a bold move, also, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road founder and a bitcoin early adopter and promoter, who was convicted and sentenced for illicit trade on his platform.  These actions keep the industry optimistic about a favorable policy shift.

Read also: Joint Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC on Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank Depositors.    

 

Image source: Techstory.in

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Jude Ayua is a policy analyst at CAB. A lawyer, Jude is an associate at Infusion Lawyers where he is a member of the Blockchain & Virtual Assets Group. He is also a member of the Policy & Regulations Committee of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN). Jude reports and writes on crypto policy and regulations. jude@infusionlawyers.com