The crypto market is on the brink of change: banking licenses for digital assets and the return of Strategy to the game
Last night was marked by a series of significant events that could radically change the landscape of American crypto regulation. The head of the OCC spoke in favor of granting crypto companies access to a banking license, Strategy announced the resumption of Bitcoin purchases, and the SEC, apparently, is preparing a fateful decision on tokenized stocks.
Market dynamics: cautious consolidation
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near the $63,794 mark by 08:45 Moscow time. Classic volatility was observed overnight: quotes first fell to $63,200, then attempted to storm the $64,450 level, but ultimately returned to the $63,800 range. This suggests that the market is in an accumulation phase ahead of a potential decisive move.
Ethereum (ETH) showed a similar picture, consolidating around $1,890. However, overnight the price dipped to $1,853, indicating lingering uncertainty among major players.
Among the top-10 altcoins, Dogecoin (DOGE) stood out with a gain of 2.91%, and BNB added 2.19%. The laggard was Hyperliquid (HYPE), which lost 1.47%. In the top-100, the best result was shown by Canton (CC) with a gain of 5.52%, while NEAR Protocol and Curve DAO Token rose by 4.48% and 4.07%, respectively. The worst performance was demonstrated by Audiera (BEAT), which plunged by 10.7%.
Flows into spot ETFs were mixed: Bitcoin funds attracted $4.89 million, Solana products — $1.43 million, while Ethereum ETFs lost $1.76 million. Over the day, exchanges liquidated positions of 76,376 traders totaling $175.22 million. The largest liquidation order occurred on Binance for the BTCUSDT pair and amounted to $2.46 million.
Regulatory shift: the OCC opens doors
The head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Jonathan Gould, made an important statement: crypto companies should have a path to obtaining a national banking license. According to him, access should be opened to everyone engaged in legitimate activities, including working with digital assets. Gould emphasized that "America and the OCC are open for business again." Notably, over the past 18 months, the agency has received 40 applications to create new banks, with decisions on many of them made within 120 days.
This statement is not just rhetoric. It signals a fundamental change in the regulator's approach, which previously viewed the crypto industry as a source of risk rather than a full-fledged participant in the financial system.
Strategy returns to accumulation
The head of Strategy, Fong Le, confirmed that the company will resume Bitcoin purchases before the end of the year. This will happen despite recent sales of part of its reserves, which raised questions among market participants. Le explained that since the beginning of the year, Strategy has acquired about 175,000 BTC and sold only about 7,000 — meaning the volume of purchases exceeded sales by 25 times. The proceeds went to dividends on preferred shares, share buybacks, and dollar reserves. Now the company intends to return to increasing its holdings of the flagship cryptocurrency.
SEC: tokenized stocks on the verge of legalization
The key intrigue of the coming days will be the SEC meeting, which could take place as early as Friday. The regulator will likely present an exemption for trading tokenized stocks — a special regime for certain contracts with crypto assets. This exemption could pave the way for 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks on the blockchain.
However, it is not all that simple. Public companies will be able to object to the digitalization of their securities by third parties, and platforms will be required to tighten anti-money laundering rules, including a possible requirement to register in the U.S.
My view: The combination of these signals — from banking licenses to the legalization of tokenized stocks — indicates that the American regulatory landscape is entering a new phase. This is not just a "bearish" or "bullish" factor, but a structural improvement in conditions for institutional adoption. However, one should not forget: any easing is accompanied by stricter compliance requirements, which could become a serious barrier for small projects. The market will likely react to this news with increased volatility, and I advise traders to be prepared for sharp movements in both directions.