The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency states that banks can hold certain cryptocurrencies to pay gas fees.

According to a new letter from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), banks can pay gas fees and hold the cryptocurrency required to pay these network fees. In its Explanation Letter No. 1186, released Tuesday, the OCC stated that banks may be required to pay network fees as part of their business operations and hold cryptocurrency on their balance sheets to cover these fees. The OCC cited Ethereum as an example, noting that the Ethereum network requires transactions to be denominated in ETH. The OCC stated, "These users either need to maintain a separate Ethereum account, need to trade in the spot market on a crypto asset exchange to obtain Ethereum before trading, or need to work with a third-party network fee provider or obtain Ethereum through other means. This process can increase costs and significant risks, including operational complexity, asset price volatility, and transaction delays."