Bank Ceases Crypto Partnerships

FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Division of Risk Management Supervision
Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection
300 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60606

Chicago Regional Office
Phone (312) 382-7500
Fax (312) 382-6901

August 8, 2023

Board of Directors
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX

Subject: Notification of Engagement in Crypto-Related Activities

Dear Members of the Board:

On September 28, 2022, the FDIC received the bank’s notification of its intent to engage in crypto-related activities pursuant to Financial Institution Letter 16-2022, “Notification of Engaging in Crypto-Related Activities.” The notification indicated that the bank proposed to partner with XXXXX XXXXX and XXXXX XXXXX which use blockchain technology.

The FDIC received additional information from the bank on January 31, 2023, in response to our December 13, 2022 letter. Subsequently, on February 17, 2023, the FDIC sent a letter to the Board requesting that the Bank refrain from providing XXXXX and XXXXX to its customers until the FDIC has completed a review of the activities.

The bank notified the FDIC of its intent to no longer proceed with XXXXX on March 21, 2023. As a result, the FDIC focused the review on the bank’s implementation of XXXXX and requested additional information on May 25, 2023. Also, on June 27, 2023, the FDIC received the bank’s notification of its intent to no longer partner with XXXXX to offer XXXXX to bank customers. The FDIC acknowledges the bank’s updated status related to these activities, and the February 17, 2023 FDIC letter to the Board has been superseded as a result of the March 21, 2023 and June 27, 2023 communications to the FDIC. However, please notify our office if the status of this activity, or other crypto-related activity, changes in the future.

This letter is confidential and may not be disclosed or made public in any manner under part 309 of the FDIC Rules and Regulations (12 CFR part 309). If you have any questions, please contact Case Manager XXXXX or XXXXX or Senior Review Examiner XXXXX or XXXXX. Written correspondence should be addressed to my attention at the Chicago Regional Office, and sent as a PDF document through the FDIC’s Secure Email portal (securemail.fdic.gov) using the following e-mail address: XXXXX@FDIC.gov.

Sincerely,
Gregory Bottone
Regional Director

cc:
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago