President Donald Trump has pushed the Federal Reserve to revisit one of the most contested gateways in US finance, escalating a fight over whether crypto and fintech firms should be allowed to connect directly to the central bank’s payment system.
On May 19, Trump signed an executive order directing the Fed to evaluate its policies on granting payment-account access to non-bank financial companies, including firms involved in digital assets, blockchain services, and other financial technology businesses.
The order, titled “Integrating Financial Technology Innovation into Regulatory Frameworks,” asks federal agencies to identify rules and supervisory practices that may place unnecessary limits on financial innovation.
The directive does not immediately grant crypto firms access to the Fed’s payment rails. However, it gives the central bank a clear mandate to review whether existing law permits broader access and, if so, how the application process should work.
The outcome could determine whether companies such as Kraken, Ripple, Coinbase, Circle, Anchorage, Wise, Paxos, and BitGo can reduce their reliance on intermediary banks and move closer to the infrastructure that handles…
