Cryptocurrency prices jumped Monday evening after the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a letter approving U.S. banks to use public blockchain networks.
Ether jumped nearly 12% on the letter’s release, given Ethereum’s dominance as a stablecoin payment settlement protocol. Bitcoin also gained 5% and both leading cryptocurrencies almost fully retraced Sunday evening’s losses.
“After a flurry of negative regulatory news, investors are pleased to see positive regulatory news allowing stablecoin and public blockchain integration into the traditional banking sector,” said Justin Yashouafar, managing partner at Santa Monica-based Blockhead Capital.
The letter addressed national banks and federal savings associations participating as nodes on a blockchain and storing or validating payments made in native digital assets or stablecoins.
The OCC’s letter stands in contrast to a bill introduced in the last Congressional session that would have required…