President Donald Trump has signed two financial-system executive orders that could reshape how crypto and fintech firms approach U.S. banking access, payment rails, and compliance.
The first order asks the Federal Reserve to evaluate whether uninsured depository institutions and non-bank financial companies, including firms involved in digital assets and other novel financial activities, can get direct access to Reserve Bank payment accounts and payment services. The Fed is asked to submit a report within 120 days outlining legal authority, possible access options, barriers, and risk controls.
The second order moves in the other direction by tightening financial-crime oversight. It directs Treasury to issue an advisory on suspicious activity risks within 60 days, propose Bank Secrecy Act customer due diligence changes within 90 days, and consider customer identification program changes within 180 days.
Together, the orders create a two-sided crypto policy signal. The White House wants more financial innovation and clearer access to payment infrastructure, but it also wants stronger customer checks, fraud controls, and illicit-finance monitoring.
Crypto Firms Get a Fresh Opening on Fed Access
The fintech order is the more directly crypto-relevant of the two.
It tells federal regulators to review rules, guidance, supervisory practices, and application processes that may block fintech firms from partnering with regulated financial institutions or obtaining federal licenses. The order defines fintech broadly enough to include digital asset-related services, blockchain-based services, payment processing, brokerage, custodial services, capital markets, and other financial activities.
That broad definition matters because many crypto companies have struggled for years with bank access, payment processing, custody relationships, and regulatory uncertainty. Even firms that try to operate compliantly can face delays, inconsistent standards, or banking partners that are unwilling to touch crypto activity because of perceived supervisory risk.
The order does not automatically give crypto firms master accounts or direct Fed access. It asks the Federal Reserve to evaluate the legal and policy framework, then recommend options. But the language clearly puts digital asset firms inside the conversation.
The Fed Report Could Decide How Far Access Goes
The most important part of the fintech order is the requested Federal Reserve review.
The White House asks the Fed to examine whether covered firms can receive direct access to Reserve Bank payment accounts and payment services. It also asks the Fed to look at options for expanding access where allowed by law, subject to risk-management requirements. The report must also identify legal barriers and possible legislative or regulatory fixes.
That is a big deal because direct or clearer access to payment rails could reduce dependence on fragile banking relationships. Crypto firms often rely on third-party banks, payment processors, and correspondent arrangements to move dollars. When those relationships fail, users can face delayed deposits, blocked withdrawals, or sudden service disruptions.
Direct access would not be simple. The Fed would need to consider settlement risk, operational risk, cyber risk, liquidity, financial stability, and whether non-bank firms can meet strict standards. The order also asks whether individual Reserve Banks can act independently when granting or denying access, and whether Fed-level rules should make those decisions more consistent.
That consistency issue matters. Crypto and fintech firms have often complained that access decisions can feel slow, opaque, or different across regulators and regions. The order pushes the Fed to explain the rules more clearly.
AML Oversight Moves in the Opposite Direction
The second order shows that the administration is not only focused on access.
It directs Treasury to issue an advisory identifying red flags and suspicious activity patterns tied to payroll tax evasion, concealment of account ownership, off-the-books wage payments, structuring, labor trafficking, and certain identity-document risks. The order also directs Treasury and financial regulators to propose stronger customer due diligence rules under the Bank Secrecy Act.
For crypto firms, the key takeaway is that easier access to banking and payment infrastructure may come with higher expectations around identity checks and compliance controls. Exchanges, stablecoin issuers, custodians, payment firms, and crypto-linked fintechs may face closer scrutiny if they want to operate inside mainstream U.S. financial rails.
That is not surprising. Regulators are unlikely to expand payment access without asking for strong controls in return. A company that wants faster access to dollar settlement may need to show that it can identify customers, monitor transactions, report suspicious activity, and manage sanctions or illicit-finance risks.
The Orders Are Not a Free Pass for Crypto
The market should be careful not to read the orders as automatic approval for every crypto firm.
The fintech order asks regulators to reduce unnecessary barriers and encourage innovation, but it also repeatedly mentions safety and soundness, consumer protection, investor protection, market integrity, financial stability, and oversight. Those words matter because they give regulators room to say no when a firm’s risk controls are weak.
In practice, this could create a more formal path for serious fintech and crypto companies while raising the bar for weaker operators. Firms with audited controls, clear governance, strong AML programs, cyber safeguards, and reliable custody may benefit most. Firms with poor compliance or unclear ownership may face tougher questions.
That makes the policy mix more balanced than a simple pro-crypto headline. The administration is signaling that digital asset firms should not be blocked only because they are crypto firms. But it is also saying that access to the financial system must come with stronger safeguards.
Stablecoins Could Feel the Biggest Impact
Stablecoins depend on banking access, reserves, payment settlement, and customer confidence. If regulators create clearer rules for fintech access to Fed payment services or bank partnerships, large stablecoin businesses could gain more predictable infrastructure. That would matter for dollar-backed tokens used in trading, payments, remittances, DeFi, and cross-border settlement.
At the same time, stablecoin issuers are likely to face intense AML expectations. If stablecoins become more connected to regulated payment rails, officials will want better monitoring for fraud, sanctions evasion, trafficking finance, and other illicit flows.
The same applies to crypto payment companies. Easier access to payment networks could help them offer faster deposits, withdrawals, and merchant settlement. But that access will likely depend on compliance maturity, not just technology.
Banks May Get More Room to Work With Crypto
The orders may also affect banks that want to work with digital asset firms.
The fintech order tells regulators to identify rules and practices that unduly impede fintech firms from partnering with federally regulated institutions, including insured depository institutions, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and futures commission merchants.
That could matter because many banks have avoided crypto clients due to unclear supervisory signals. If regulators are pushed to clarify expectations, more banks may be willing to serve properly vetted crypto companies. That could improve market stability by reducing the number of crypto firms crowded into a small group of banking partners.
Still, banks will not treat all crypto firms the same. Firms that cannot explain their ownership, customers, transaction flows, reserves, cybersecurity, or sanctions controls may remain difficult to bank.
What Happens Next?
The first deadline to watch is the Fed’s 120-day report.
That report could show whether direct payment-account access for certain fintech or crypto-linked companies is legally possible under current law. It may also identify where Congress would need to act. If the report supports broader access with clear requirements, crypto banking policy could shift meaningfully. If it finds major legal barriers, the market may need to wait for legislation.
The second deadline is Treasury’s 60-day advisory. That could give banks, exchanges, and payment companies a clearer view of the suspicious activity patterns regulators want them to watch. The 90-day and 180-day deadlines may then shape longer-term changes to customer due diligence and customer identification rules.
For crypto, the message is clear. The White House is pushing regulators to open doors, but those doors will likely come with stronger compliance expectations.
Key Takeaway
Trump’s new financial-system orders give crypto firms both an opening and a warning.
The fintech order could push regulators toward clearer payment-access rules for digital asset firms, stablecoin businesses, and other non-bank financial companies. But the AML order makes clear that broader access will not mean lighter oversight. Crypto companies that want deeper access to U.S. banking and payment rails will need strong customer checks, fraud controls, and illicit-finance monitoring.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
