Bitcoin Bill will Let Banks Offer Crypto Custody

Key Highlights

• U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that the upcoming bipartisan legislation will enable major regulated banks to custody digital assets and blockchain-based payment services under federal supervision
• The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) is scheduled for a key Senate committee markup in January 2026
• Federal agencies like the OCC and FDIC have already issued new guidance rescinding restrictive policies

On December 31, United States Senator Cynthia Lummis, who also chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, affirmed that proposed bipartisan legislation will allow major banks to offer digital asset services. 

This includes the custody of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based payment systems, all under formal federal supervision. 

Her pro-crypto comments will open the door toward bringing cryptocurrency into the regulated mainstream financial world. 

Lummis Highlights Ongoing Legislative Efforts

Senator Lummis’s comment is coming amid ongoing legislative efforts for clear rules that would allow supervised financial institutions safely hold crypto assets for clients and process transactions. The framework she supports would not require banks to seek individual, case-by-case approvals. 

These legislative efforts are coming under Trump’s administration, which, since January 2025, has worked to reverse more restrictive policies from the previous administration. A major part of this has been ending what industry participants called “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” which is a coordinated effort to deny banking services to crypto companies. Lummis praised these efforts, saying that it protects consumer while ensuring the United States remains a leader in financial technology. 

Big Legislation Set for Committee Review in January 2026

Central to this progress is specific pending legislation. Senator Lummis’s optimism is tied to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, commonly called the CLARITY Act. This is a bipartisan market structure bill that is advancing through Congress. On December 18, White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks announced that the chairs of two key Senate committees confirmed a markup session for the bill in January 2026. 

The committees are the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Senator Tim Scott, and the Senate Agriculture Committee, chaired by Senator John Boozman.

A markup session is a major procedural process where a committee reviews a bill, where members debate amendments, and vote on whether to send it to the full Senate for consideration. The CLARITY Act builds upon a similar bill passed earlier by the House of Representatives. 

Its main goal is to clearly divide regulatory oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It is expected to classify most digital assets that are not securities as commodities under the CFTC’s authority, while also establishing rules for decentralized networks and investor protections. 

Senator Lummis and other supporters are seeing this act as essential before her announced retirement in January 2027, to prevent crypto innovation from moving entirely overseas. 

Regulatory Changes Paving the Way for Banks

The Trump administration has enacted several major regulatory changes to enable this bank integration. Key actions include new guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC issued interpretive letters, which rescinded old notification requirements. 

These new rules state that national banks can now custody crypto assets and execute certain crypto trades for customers without needing pre-approval, as long as they follow safe and sound banking practices. 

Other agencies have taken similar steps. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) withdrew restrictive guidance from 2022 and 2023, allowing state-chartered banks to participate in crypto activities without prior notice. 

Joint statements from federal banking agencies have affirmed that safeguarding crypto assets is a permissible activity, which has helped end pressures on banks to deny services to the industry. 

The GENIUS Act, which was signed into law in July 2025, created the first federal framework for regulating stablecoins, leading to an increase in their use for payments. 

Senator Lummis has also proposed separate legislation, the BITCOIN Act, which advocates for the U.S. government to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Additionally, new guidance from the SEC under Chair Paul Atkins has provided clarity that most digital tokens are not considered securities.