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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →On January 29, 2025, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said banks could serve crypto customers if they understood and managed the risks while maintaining safety and soundness. He did not guarantee that any crypto company could open or keep a bank account. Separately, tariff announcements in early February coincided with a decline in Bitcoin, which contemporary coverage attributed to investor risk aversion—not to Powell’s banking comments.
What did Powell actually confirm about crypto and banks?
At a January 29, 2025 press conference, Powell described the Fed’s role as supervising banks. He said banks were able to serve crypto customers if they could understand and manage the risks and remain safe and sound. He also said the Fed did not want excess regulatory risk aversion to lead banks to terminate customers conducting lawful business. The Federal Reserve’s transcript records his remarks.
In Powell’s words, “banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers, as long as they understand and can manage the risks and its safe, safe and soundness.” The transcript preserves his spoken disfluency. His broader point was that supervision should not prompt banks to drop lawful customers simply because of excessive risk aversion.
Does that mean crypto companies are entitled to bank accounts?
No. Powell described a conditional supervisory position, not a binding guarantee of account access. His comments did not require banks to accept every crypto business or promise that a particular firm would qualify for an account.
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| Issue | What Powell’s remarks support | What they do not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Banking access | Banks may serve crypto customers when they understand and manage the risks and remain safe and sound. | Universal or guaranteed access for crypto firms. |
| Customer decisions | The Fed does not want excessive risk aversion tied to regulation or supervision to drive termination of lawful customers. | A prohibition on banks making risk-based decisions or rejecting customers they cannot safely serve. |
| Bitcoin | The remarks address bank supervision and crypto customers. | A Fed endorsement, purchase, or direct policy action to support Bitcoin. |
The practical distinction is between discouraging indiscriminate rejection and requiring a bank to take on risks it cannot manage. The remarks leave banks responsible for their own risk controls; they do not settle any individual company’s account application or relationship.
Why did the headline connect Powell’s remarks with Bitcoin crash fears?
That was a separate market thread. The Forbes headline appeared February 2, 2025, amid concern about President Donald Trump’s tariff actions. The White House issued an executive order concerning duties at the southern border on February 1. The order establishes the policy’s date and existence; it does not establish the effect on Bitcoin’s price.
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Contemporaneous coverage placed Bitcoin near $99,000 around the Forbes article’s publication period. On February 3, a separate report described cryptocurrencies sliding after Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, with Bitcoin below $97,000. That February 3 report described the downturn in the context of tariff-related risk aversion. These are historical snapshots, not current prices, and they do not prove that any single announcement mechanically caused a particular move.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Were Powell’s comments tied to an interest-rate cut?
No. The crypto-banking discussion was supervisory, not a rate decision or a direct attempt to move Bitcoin. At the same January 29 press conference, the Fed maintained its federal funds target range at 4.25–4.50 percent. Powell said policy was not on a preset course and would depend on incoming data. The press conference transcript covers both the rate decision and his comments about banks.
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What should readers take from the February 2025 headlines?
- Powell said banks could serve crypto customers if they managed the associated risks and remained safe and sound.
- He did not promise crypto firms universal access to banking; banks still have risk-management responsibilities.
- The Fed’s remarks concerned bank supervision, not a direct endorsement or purchase of Bitcoin.
- The Bitcoin price concerns belonged to a separate tariff-related market story, and the cited prices are dated February 2025 reports.
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