Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies now sit inside the payment plus financial systems. The statement ends years of official silence and signals that regulators, fintech firms, stablecoin issuers and big investors may soon settle payments straight through the Fed’s own pipes. Waller outlined a pathway to weave crypto into the Fed’s network while imposing safeguards.
Waller floated “skinny master accounts” that let fintechs and stablecoin firms plug straight into Fed settlement rails without chartering as full banks. The goal is to spur new services and cut reliance on old school banks while keeping risk in check. The accounts would pay no interest, grant no daylight overdrafts and face balance caps, all to shield the Fed’s books or the wider system.
A skinny master account is a limited doorway to the Fed’s payment system for non-banks: it grants direct settlement but not the full rights and duties of a deposit taking bank. Waller underscored the shift with a conference quote: “Bitcoin also other cryptocurrencies are integrated into the structure of payment and financial systems,” Christopher Waller, 21 October 2025.
Skinny master accounts and safeguards
Waller tied the plan to wider corporate use and state-level policy, noting that firms now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets besides Texas law SB21 already orders a state level Bitcoin reserve. He also noted that large buyers have locked away so much Bitcoin that less of it now trades on the open market.
Official words speed up corporate treasuries next to payment firms that want to hold or move crypto. While a direct Fed settlement removes some middle layer delays – it does not promise calmer prices.
The next step to watch for the Fed’s detailed rulebook on skinny master accounts; that paper will set the launch date but also tell federal and state agencies what laws need updates.
The Fed’s move sketches a controlled on-ramp for crypto into core payments. If implemented, the framework could widen access to settlement while containing risk, shaping how firms and public bodies hold and move digital assets.
