President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal regulators to review rules for integrating digital assets and fintech into traditional financial services. The order gives the Federal Reserve 120 days to evaluate whether it has legal authority to grant non-bank financial companies, including digital asset firms, direct access to Fed payment accounts—known as master accounts. Federal regulators have 90 days to identify regulations impeding fintech partnerships with regulated institutions, followed by 180 days to encourage innovation. The order preserves the Fed's formal independence, as it only requests a review, not a mandate. However, it shifts the burden onto the Fed to publicly defend any denial of access. Industry experts view this as a political signal that could accelerate tokenization and integrate crypto into core financial infrastructure. The Fed has already begun granting limited access, such as a limited-purpose account to Kraken's parent company Payward in March 2026. The executive order also faces criticism from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who argued that OCC approvals for crypto charters violate the National Bank Act.

Key facts

• Trump executive order directs Fed to evaluate whether crypto firms can access payment accounts within 120 days.
• Federal regulators have 90 days to identify rules blocking fintech-bank partnerships, then 180 days to foster innovation.
• Order preserves Fed independence but shifts burden onto the central bank to publicly defend access denials.
• Fed already granted limited access to Payward (Kraken parent) via a limited-purpose account in March 2026.
• Senator Warren opposes OCC approvals for crypto bank charters, citing risk and potential corruption.