By coinnews 
On Apr. 24, the Federal Reserve reversed guidelines that previously inhibited Wall Street from adopting Bitcoin and crypto. However, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) retracted their own statements the same day, telling banks to be extra-watchful over risks related to crypto.
Previously, the Fed had repeatedly cautioned banks to be cautious of the volatility, legal gray areas, and liquidity risks related to crypto.
State member banks — banks regulated by the agency — may now offer crypto services without its prior approval.
“This move reflects the Trump administration’s increasingly pro-crypto stance” — including reduced regulatory enforcement and the appointment of crypto-friendly SEC Chair Paul Atkins, said analysts at Tagus Capital.
Business figures, among them MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, cheered the Fed’s move as a signal for banks to move toward Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, crypto ETFs had their best day since January, accumulating $2.6 billion this week so far.
But the Fed did not go as far as extending master account privileges to such crypto-native banks as Custodia and Kraken Financial — a point of contention that may yet amount to another seismic shift in the financial system.
The Fed’s moves, along with political uncertainty and fears of a recession, could drive the central bank to be even more aggressive in cutting rates, said market strategist Joel Kruger. That possibility, he cautioned, could set off a round of U.S. dollar outflows — and send even more dollars into digital assets.