The Blockchain Association is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Custodia Bank’s long-running fight for access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system, warning that a lower-court ruling could give federal regulators broad power to shut lawful digital asset businesses out of banking.
In an amicus brief supporting Custodia’s petition for Supreme Court review, the cryptocurrency industry trade group argued that the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals went too far when it ruled that Federal Reserve banks have discretion to deny master accounts even to institutions that are legally eligible for them.
A master account allows a financial institution to access the Federal Reserve’s payment system directly, without relying on an intermediary bank. Custodia Bank, a Wyoming-chartered crypto bank, has been seeking such an account for years.