U.S. banks' cryptocurrency involvement faces increased scrutiny, as evidenced by the recent banking statistics from Basel
In a recent development, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has updated global banking standards related to digital asset exposures and custody for banks worldwide, including US banks. This update is part of its 2025-26 work program, emphasizing enhanced transparency, risk management, and international cooperation regarding cryptoasset holdings and associated risks.
Following the initial statistics on the scarce participation of banks in cryptoasset custody in 2023, custody figures have notably increased by mid-2024. According to Basel Committee statistics referenced by US federal regulators, crypto custody by banks had risen to almost $16 billion (€13.57 billion) by mid-2024, despite previous regulatory hurdles such as the SEC’s SAB 121, which was rescinded early in 2025.
The US Federal banking regulators (Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC) issued a recent statement (July 2025) on expectations for crypto-asset safekeeping. The guidance highlights that banks must possess adequate operational capacity, expertise, and controls for safe and sound crypto custody practices. The emphasis is on risk management areas, including cryptographic key security, anti-money laundering compliance, and managing third-party technology risks, key to digital asset custody agreements.
These regulatory and supervisory updates reflect a growing integration of cryptoassets into mainstream finance and a priority to mitigate systemic risks while fostering trust in digital asset activities within the banking sector.
In June 2024, the Basel Committee published Basel III monitoring statistics, including digital asset exposures. However, the Committee's statistics were significantly revised more than a month after publishing the article. The figure for digital asset custody in the US was revised below €333 billion ($359 billion).
Meanwhile, the Basel figures are based on a statistical sample and may not necessarily include the same banks in both December 2023 and June 2024. US banks provided significant services to clients in the amount of €190 billion ($205 billion) for cryptocurrencies in late 2023. However, by June 2024, the client figure for US banks for cryptocurrencies had collapsed to under €5.8 billion.
The custody figures for the Americas were also revised, with assets under custody in 2024 Q2 being €13.57 billion instead of €333 billion. The €333 billion figure attributed to ETPs in US bank custody was more than three times the total crypto ETP assets under management in June 2024, which were around $110 billion. The figure of unlisted funds included in the €333 billion ETP figure is unlikely to be of this scale.
The type of exposure in Europe switched from mainly ETPs (60%) to primarily spot crypto (69%). Europe trebled its prudential exposures to €2.6 billion in digital assets. The former SEC Chair Gensler began providing exceptions to SAB 121, a rule that blocked banks from providing custody for cryptocurrencies, which contributed to the rise in custody figures.
The BIS subsequently revised the custody figures. The graph below shows total crypto ETP assets under management in June 2024. This marks a proactive and structured approach to navigating the complexities of cryptoasset risk in the banking system.
- The Basel Committee's revised figures now show that crypto custody by US banks had increased to about $16 billion (€13.57 billion) by mid-2024, a significant jump from initial statistics in 2023.
- US federal regulators issued a statement in July 2025, expecting banks to have adequate expertise, operational capacity, and controls for safe and sound crypto custody practices, emphasizing risk management areas such as cryptographic key security, anti-money laundering compliance, and managing third-party technology risks.
- The growing integration of cryptoassets into mainstream finance is evident as the Basel Committee's updates reflect a priority to mitigate systemic risks while fostering trust in digital asset activities within the banking sector.
