(Bloomberg) -- Coinbase Global Inc. is urging US banking regulators to clarify or amend their positions in order to allow banks to offer custody and trading execution services for cryptocurrencies as well as clear the path for them to partner with the likes of Coinbase.

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In a letter seen by Bloomberg that was sent to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the largest US crypto exchange urged the OCC to withdraw an interpretive letter that Coinbase said “imposes a de facto application process for novel bank activities” that effectively impedes banks from entering the digital-asset market. It also asked the Fed and the FDIC to confirm that state-chartered banks subject to their jurisdiction may both provide and outsource custody and execution services related to crypto.

A separate letter from three law firms retained by Coinbase argued that existing federal laws and regulations already authorize banks to provide cryptocurrency services and to engage with third-party service providers like Coinbase. Banking regulators need to confirm that’s the case, Coinbase said. Representatives for the OCC and FDIC declined to comment, while a representative for the Fed did not return requests for comment.

“It’s important for regulators to make clear that banks can work with third-party providers in providing trading and exchange services to their customers,” Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, said in an interview. Coinbase provides custody for most US spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds, which debuted last year.

Until recently, banks have been in a holding pattern when it comes to offering crypto services due to regulatory scrutiny. Between March of 2022 and May of 2023, for example, the FDIC issued letters to certain financial institutions under its supervision, asking them to pause, or not expand, planned or ongoing crypto-related activities, and provide additional information.

The push from Coinbase comes as barriers for banks to offer digital-asset services are falling quickly under President Donald Trump’s new administration. Trump has appointed some crypto-friendly federal agency heads, and issued an executive order supportive of the digital-asset industry. Among other significant moves was the repeal of what’s known as SAB 121, which was guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission that made it impractical for banks to offer crypto custody by making them record all custodied assets on their balance sheets as liabilities.