OCC lifts consent order on Anchorage Digital

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has lifted its consent order against Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered crypto bank, as of Thursday, August 21, 2025. 

Originally issued in April 2022, the order cited Anchorage’s failure to meet federal standards for anti-money-laundering (AML) controls and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), pointing to shortcomings in its compliance program.

After three years of remediation, the OCC confirmed that Anchorage has addressed those deficiencies. The regulator concluded that the bank is now secure, well-managed, and fully compliant with federal requirements.

Regulators verify Anchorage resolved AML fissures

The OCC’s discontinuance order emphasized that the consent decree against Anchorage Digital is unnecessary. The regulator said the bank’s compliance program now “satisfies the high expectations” required of any federally chartered institution. This comprises AML, customer credit report, and suspicious activity reporting controls.

Anchorage responded with sweeping changes. The firm has hired compliance professionals with experience in both banking and digital assets. It hired outside experts to develop stronger frameworks. Sophisticated surveillance systems were rolled out to spot suspicious trading patterns, and automation tools became faster and better at reporting to overseers. Anchorage also ramped up staff training to ensure compliance obligations were understood at every level.

Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley described the OCC’s decision as a landmark for the digital asset industry. He said the bank had exceeded requirements by using the challenge to strengthen its systems. He added that Anchorage had turned regulatory feedback into a compliance success and now positioned itself as the world’s most regulated digital asset bank.

The outcome underscores the difference between Anchorage and other crypto firms. Although Anchorage embraced federal oversight and strived to meet stringent standards, many such firms have resisted or wound up in court fights with U.S. regulators. Others have gone so far as to flee the country.

Anchorage CEO said the firm deliberately chose the tougher path of seeking a federal charter and enduring years of regulatory scrutiny. He explained that while this route was not the easiest, it was meant to build trust with governments, customers, investors, and international partners, creating a foundation of safety and reliability that the crypto industry needs.

Anchorage cements its crypto-banking lead

Anchorage Digital made history in January 2021 when the OCC granted it the first national trust bank charter to a crypto native firm. Under the charter, Anchorage is authorized to carry digital assets on behalf of institutions in a way that traditional banks have long done for traditional assets.

Today, Anchorage is the only U.S. digital asset bank with a complete banking charter. That puts it in a unique position within the industry when regulators are closely watching the wild market for digital currencies.

The South Dakota firm offers custody, staking, trading, and governance services. In April 2025, the asset manager BlackRock chose Anchorage to safeguard some of the Bitcoin and Ethereum the firm owns for its spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). That only strengthened Anchorage’s standing with overseas investors.

The reversal of Anchorage’s policy has accompanied broader regulatory clarity. May 2025 saw the OCC provide more clarity for national banks to hold, purchase, and sell crypto-assets and facilitate customer market access. That ruling spurred other companies, including Circle, Ripple, and Paxos, to seek federal charters similar to Anchorage’s.

Just a few weeks ago, Anchorage Digital rolled out a new stablecoin issuance platform, naming Ethena Labs as its inaugural partner, according to an earlier report from Cryptopolitan. Through the partnership, Anchorage will bring Ethena’s stablecoin, USDtb, onshore to the United States and issue it via its federally chartered crypto bank.

This marked the first time USDtb will be issued in the U.S.—and, according to the firms, the first stablecoin to launch with a defined compliance pathway under the recently enacted GENIUS Act, which sets regulatory standards for stablecoin operations in America.

The OCC’s decision to end the order is generally considered a sign of a change of direction in U.S. crypto policy. Regulators are likelier to permit a compliant company to operate under federal supervision than force it offshore.

Anchorage is a story of what it takes to succeed here. The bank also had to increase the size of its compliance program and spend heavily on surveillance to convince regulators that it could do business on the same level as other banks.

KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast