Trump Signs Executive Order Requiring Federal Reserve to Review and Consider Expanding Direct Access for Crypto and Fintech Firms to Master Accounts
The directive instructs the Federal Reserve to assess the feasibility of non-bank institutions accessing payment systems and master accounts, following Kraken's limited master account approval in March.
Crypto firms are expected to bypass traditional bank intermediaries and directly use wholesale payment systems like Fedwire for fund transfers.
Source: Public Information
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Trump previously signed an executive order on digital asset leadership in January 2025, emphasizing the protection of fair access to banking services for private entities and promoting the mainstreaming of blockchain technology. This new order continues that path, further dismantling regulatory barriers.
In terms of capital pathways, tech giants like OpenAI and crypto funds are accelerating resource injection into compliant infrastructure. Companies like Ripple and Anchorage Digital have obtained conditional licenses and applied for master accounts, with strategic goals to build independent clearing and settlement loops, reduce reliance on traditional banks, and compress intermediary costs.
Similar to how Kraken's approval in March 2026 spurred multiple applications, and the expansion path of the early Wyoming SPDI charter, the crypto industry is currently transitioning from marginalization to core payment penetration, with first movers rapidly accumulating settlement volumes through a combination of licenses and master accounts.
Essentially, this represents a restructuring of the industry chain: the opening of the Federal Reserve's master account as a bank-level funding channel shifts pricing power from traditional deposit institutions to non-bank crypto platforms. The mechanism involves a regulatory shift from "safety first" to "innovation first," forcing the banking system to cede some control over payment infrastructure to accommodate the mainstreaming of digital assets.
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When regulations loosen, those who seize the channels first absorb all friction costs of latecomers. Bank intermediaries are a moat, but with policy changes, they become a burden. Whoever controls direct settlement holds the pricing power for the next generation of wealth transfer.