Anchorage, owned by Visa, the first national cryptocurrency bank in the US.

The Anchorage company, in which Visa invested 40 million dollars in 2019, has become the first cryptocurrency bank in the United States, thanks to the federal letter granted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The startup, founded in 2017 for the institutional custody of cryptocurrencies, obtained the status of a national trust bank after a thorough review of the company and its current operations.

Anchorage: cryptocurrencies deserve a bank
Thus, the first federally authorized digital asset bank in US history is called the Anchorage Digital Bank National Association. Anchorage calls the news a milestone, not only for the company, but also for the crypto industry and the financial world in general. "Cryptocurrencies deserve a bank, and we are immensely proud to have been approved as the ones that set the standard," the bank says on its blog.

Equating cryptocurrencies to traditional finance
The news is a significant step towards the adoption of cryptocurrencies, allowing large banks to use Anchorage to hold their clients' crypto assets. In this sense, the company expresses on its website that for banks that wish to provide a comprehensive solution for digital assets, the Anchorage platform is the easiest and safest option. "It offers the same seamless experience that clients expect from traditional financial services," he says.

US banks and savings banks can use stablecoins to make payments

Having a national banking charter places Anchorage Digital Bank on the same regulatory base as other national banks in the country. More immediately, the company explains, it makes sub-custody services available to any traditional financial institution that wants to provide its clients with access to digital assets. Anchorage is also pleased that the lines that separate cryptocurrencies from traditional finance are beginning to blur.

Increase in institutional adoption
Anchorage Digital Bank is the first entity to have both the technology and regulatory clarity that serious institutional involvement in crypto demands. And as a federally authorized bank with fiduciary powers, Anchorage Digital Bank will unequivocally meet the definition of a Qualified Custodian. Giving institutions an easy way to meet their obligations under federal law

The company also underscores the rise in institutional adoption of crypto. From large asset managers to corporate treasuries, endowments and family offices, "institutional interest in digital assets has never been higher."

OCC: "payments with cryptocurrencies are the main financial current in the USA"

In addition to custody services, the new cryptocurrency bank also offers trading, loans, and services related to decentralized finance (DeFi). Anchorage believes that the potential for DeFi to disrupt incumbents in the industry has only scratched the surface. And it foresees a great growth of the market for the next years. Last September it added institutional support for Aave, Balancer, Nexus Mutual, Uniswap and Yearn. I had done it before for Maker and Compound.

It could be Brooks's great act of generosity with cryptocurrencies
The federal letter granted by OCC to Anchorage could be Brian Brooks' last great act of generosity to cryptocurrencies. The name of the head of the OCC does not stop ringing these days among those who will leave office before the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House. Brooks, who has not been in charge of the body that regulates and supervises national banks and savings institutions for a year, has not stopped doing things in favor of the cryptocurrency industry.

A few days ago, the OCC also released an interpretive letter in which it said that banks will be able to use stablecoins to make payments and other activities. In addition to being able to participate as nodes in a blockchain to store or validate payments.

Posted Using LeoFinance ^Beta