[U.S. Banking Lobby Group Urges Slowing Down Crypto Company Bank Charter Approvals] According to Deep Tide TechFlow on February 12, as reported by Decrypt, the American Bankers Association (ABA) submitted a letter of opinion to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), urging a slowdown in the approval process for cryptocurrency companies' bank charter applications. The ABA warned that approving these applications before Congress establishes a relevant regulatory framework could pose risks to the financial system. Currently, several crypto companies, including Circle, Ripple, and Coinbase, are applying for or already hold OCC trust bank charters. The banking industry is concerned that this would allow crypto companies to bypass the traditional banking intermediary layer and gain direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment system.