Saylor Says Banks Can Lend Against Bitcoin Without Congress as Deutsche Bank Awaits BaFin Approval

RegulationDigital Finance
โดย 247wallst.com·USDE·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Michael Saylor, Chairman of MicroStrategy, said banks will expand Bitcoin custody and lending without new legislation from Congress, arguing the SEC and CFTC can advance crypto rules under existing law while the CLARITY Act stalls. Saylor's case rests on Bitcoin's settled status as a CFTC-regulated commodity with SEC-approved spot ETFs, plus a series of interpretive letters the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued since March 2025 confirming national banks may custody crypto assets and execute trades at customer direction. Deutsche Bank announced this week that it plans to launch regulated custody for Bitcoin, Ethereum and select stablecoins for institutional and corporate clients by the end of 2026, and that launch is awaiting sign-off from BaFin, Germany's financial regulator, under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, whose transition period ended on July 1. The bank, which reported $2.217 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, holds a German crypto-custody authorization but still needs BaFin's approval for the specific service it announced, and that custody approval is the first piece any bank needs before it can lend against Bitcoin at all. Saylor's argument runs thin in one respect: OCC interpretive letters are guidance rather than statute and can be revoked by a future administration or a court challenge without a vote in Congress, whereas the CLARITY Act would lock Bitcoin's commodity status and banks' lending authority into law. Bitcoin-backed lending would let large holders borrow at bank rates instead of triggering a taxable sale, but the same structure works in reverse when prices fall, as happened in 2022 when Celsius, BlockFi and Voyager collapsed under forced selling, and the shift remains early since Deutsche Bank has not launched custody yet, let alone lending.

Impact on stocks 3

Digital Finance & Tokenization▲ · 1 stocks
MicroStrategy Incorporated
MSTR
▲ PositiveRegulationrelevance

Saylor argues banks can custody and lend against Bitcoin under existing SEC/CFTC/OCC rules without new Congress legislation.

Financials▲ · 1 stocks
Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
DBK
▲ PositiveRegulationrelevance

Deutsche Bank announced regulated Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoin custody awaiting BaFin sign-off under EU MiCA rules.

Consumer Staples▲ · 1 stocks

Theme Impact 2

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