GAO Slams FDIC Over Crypto Oversight Coordination

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has once again urged the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to improve its coordination on crypto oversight. In a letter dated June 8, 2026, the GAO reminded the FDIC that it had yet to fully implement a recommendation made in July 2023 for formal interagency coordination on blockchain-related risks.

The original recommendation was part of a report that found federal regulators lacked an ongoing coordination mechanism for addressing blockchain risks. The agencies involved were the FDIC, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), National Credit Union Administration, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The GAO has been pushing for this change for three years now, but so far, only a joint statement on crypto-asset risk management was issued by the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and OCC in July 2025. The FDIC has also taken steps to update its own guidelines, effectively rescinding previous requirements for banks to notify it before engaging in crypto activities.

The lack of coordination between agencies is a concern because blockchain-related financial products have grown substantially since the GAO's original finding. Without a structured framework, each regulator operates from its own vantage point, creating potential conflicts and inconsistencies. A bank may be compliant with one agency's expectations but not another's.