President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 19, 2025, ordering the Federal Reserve to examine whether crypto and fintech firms should get broader access to core U.S. payment infrastructure. The directive, titled 'Integrating Financial Technology Innovation into Regulatory Frameworks,' gave the Fed 120 days to report back on whether existing law allows uninsured depositories and non-bank companies — including digital asset firms — to hold master accounts. One year later, the policy question is still unresolved, but the order forced a formal timeline that didn't exist before.
What the order actually asked
The executive order didn't hand anyone a master account. It told the Fed to evaluate the legal, regulatory, and policy framework for granting Reserve Bank payment accounts and services to institutions without federal deposit insurance. That includes crypto-native companies, payment firms, and others that don't fit the traditional bank mold. The Fed was also asked whether regional Reserve Banks can act independently when approving or denying applications — a question that cuts straight to the Custodia Bank lawsuit.
Custodia, a Wyoming crypto-focused bank, applied for a master account in October 2020, sued the Fed in 2022, and was denied in January 2023. Subsequent appeals court rulings reinforced that Reserve Banks retain discretion to reject requests. The order didn't overturn that, but it put the entire access framework under review.
Who's in line — and who got in
Kraken Financial became the first U.S. digital asset bank to land a Federal Reserve master account in March 2025. The account is limited-purpose: initially granted for one year, it gives Kraken access to Fedwire and allows limited overnight balances, but no interest on reserves, emergency Fed lending, FedNow, or ACH. It's a toehold, not a full door.
Others are still knocking. Ripple applied for a U.S. national bank charter in July 2025 and is seeking a Fed master account tied to its RLUSD stablecoin strategy. The OCC conditionally approved Ripple National Trust Bank in December 2025, a federally supervised trust bank that would manage RLUSD reserves under both NYDFS and OCC oversight. Ripple chief legal officer Stu Alderoty expressed interest last November in the Fed's 'skinny' account concept — a special-purpose payment account that could improve RLUSD reserve redeemability.
Anchorage Digital and Wise are also seeking master account access, according to the facts.
The Fed's own prototype
In December 2025, the Fed requested public input on a special-purpose 'payment account' for eligible institutions focused on payments innovation. The prototype would be distinct from a master account — no interest, no Fed credit, subject to balance caps. It looks a lot like what Alderoty was hinting at. The comment period has closed, but the Fed hasn't announced next steps.
The executive order's 120-day deadline came and went in September 2025. The Fed did submit findings — the facts don't say what they were — but the public-input request that followed suggests the central bank is still figuring out how far to open the door. Meanwhile, the policy clock has run out, but the practical clock hasn't started ticking.
At press time, XRP traded at $1.3647.
