“The temporary pause will allow the Federal Reserve to solicit and consider public input on payment accounts and to promote consistent implementation,” the announcement said.
The move highlights ongoing regulatory tension over crypto access to US payment systems following President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for broader fintech and digital asset integration, while the Fed maintains a more cautious approach
The Fed expects its temporary pause on Tier 3 master account applications to end on or before Dec. 31, according to a Board memo. The memo also provided a list of “pending account requests” from Tier 3 institutions as of Feb. 28, 2026. The list included companies such as Kraken Financial, the banking arm of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
Kraken was later granted a limited-purpose master account by the US Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in early March 2026. The bank approved the access specifically under a Tier 3 classification. The crypto industry has long pursued access to Fed master accounts as a way to connect more directly to the US payment system.