Trump orders Fed to review giving crypto firms access to master accounts

U.S. President Donald Trump has directed the Federal Reserve to evaluate its policies on granting fintech firms, including crypto companies, direct access to the Fed's payment rails.

Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, titled "Integrating financial technology innovation into regulatory frameworks," urging the federal government to remove policies that may be "overly burdensome."

Under the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Reserve banks have the authority to approve or deny applications for access to Fed payment rails. Qualified applicants are generally licensed depository institutions, prompting some crypto firms to pursue a federal charter license.

"To foster this financial innovation, the Federal Government must update regulations to allow integration of digital assets and innovative technology into traditional financial services and payment systems," the order said.

The order refers to fintech firms as non-bank companies, including those operating digital asset-related and blockchain-based services.

Notably, the order requested the Fed to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of its regulatory framework governing access to Reserve Bank payment accounts and payment services, and to explore options for extending such access to fintech and crypto firms.

Trump also directed the Fed to clarify whether the 12 Federal Reserve banks have the legal authority to independently grant or deny access to payment accounts and services.

Such accounts are often referred to as "master accounts," which would enable crypto firms to connect directly to core U.S. payment rails without relying on intermediary banks.

The order instructed the Fed to submit a report to the president within 120 days.

Heated debate

Granting Fed master account access to crypto firms has been a subject of heated debate, especially after the Kansas City Fed approved a so-called "limited purpose account" for Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, in March.

The arrangement allowed Kraken to access core payment rails used for high-value dollar settlement, potentially enabling faster deposits and withdrawals for institutional clients — though it comes with limits, including no access to interest on reserves. Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi hailed the move as the "convergence of crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails."

The approval, however, sparked backlash from traditional banking groups. The Bank Policy Institute, which represents many major banks in the U.S., has said it was "deeply concerned" that the decision came before the Fed finalized a policy framework for so-called "limited purpose" or "skinny" master accounts.

In December, the Fed published a proposal outlining a broader framework for "skinny" master accounts — a restricted version of a central bank account that provides access to payment systems while excluding features such as earning interest on reserves or borrowing from the discount window.

Last month, California Reps. Democrat Sam Liccardo and Republican Young Kim introduced the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency Act, or PACE, aiming to allow certain providers access to the Federal Reserve payment services. The bill, which remains in its early stages, has received support from crypto industry groups.