Major U.S. Bank Trade Group Says Industry Isn’t Anti-Crypto

(Bloomberg) -- A key banking trade group wants you to know that Wall Street lenders aren’t against crypto.  

As the market for digital assets explodes, U.S. banks are looking for ways to offer services that will allow their customers to buy and sell coins, Rob Nichols, president of the American Bankers Association said in a blog post Tuesday. But many token platforms are doing business akin to traditional lenders, so they should be regulated as such, Nichols said.

“It is critical to ensure that all market participants are held to the same high standards as banks,” Nichols said, adding that his group has invested in Bitcoin servicer NYDIG. “ABA believes that customers who choose to access these markets are best served when they can do so through fully regulated banks.”

Crypto lobbyists have complained that big banks are trying to strong-arm them as U.S. regulators grapple over new rules for digital assets, but lenders say that’s not the case. The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets published a report last year calling for more oversight, including recommending Congress pass legislation requiring stablecoin issuers be subject to bank-like rules.  

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