Federal Reserve to issue long-awaited guidance on granting master accounts to cryptobanks

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Monday that it has finalized the factors the Reserve Bank should consider when reviewing applications for Federal Reserve payment accounts and services. The guidance creates a three-tiered review framework that provides a level of due diligence based on an applicant's level of risk.

The guidance was first proposed in May 2021, with a companion proposal published in March, and the final guidance, which will take effect after publication in the Federal Register, is "substantially similar" to them. The Fed said in a statement:

"Institutions involved in new activities and for which authorities are still developing appropriate regulatory and supervisory frameworks will be subject to heightened scrutiny."