Regulation
State regulators align on a common examination standard for crypto custodians
A shared examination manual should reduce duplicated reviews for firms licensed across multiple states.
State financial regulators have agreed a common examination manual for firms holding digital assets on behalf of customers, replacing a patchwork of state-specific checklists.
The manual sets shared expectations for key generation ceremonies, quorum policies for signing, personnel background screening and the frequency of reconciliation between internal ledgers and on-chain balances.
For multi-state licensees, the practical benefit is fewer duplicated reviews. Under the arrangement, a lead state conducts the examination and participating states accept the findings rather than repeating fieldwork.
Firms had complained that overlapping examinations consumed compliance capacity without improving outcomes, since each state asked broadly similar questions in different formats.
The manual does not change licensing thresholds, and states retain authority to run their own reviews where they identify specific risk.
Examiners will begin using the standard in the next cycle, with an industry feedback period after the first year.
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