Blockchain Association backs Custodia in Supreme Court Fed account fight

The Blockchain Association filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court on Aug. 13, 2026, backing Custodia Bank's petition to overturn a lower-court ruling that gave the Federal Reserve wide discretion to deny master accounts to state-chartered banks. The industry group argues that the Monetary Control Act of 1980 mandates Fed services for eligible institutions, making access a statutory right rather than a privilege the central bank can grant or withhold at will.

Custodia, a Wyoming-chartered special-purpose depository institution, applied for a master account in October 2020. The Kansas City Federal Reserve denied the application in January 2023, citing risks tied to Custodia's digital-asset business model. Custodia sued, lost, and had its rehearing request denied in March 2026. It then petitioned the Supreme Court on July 10-11, 2026.

A master account is the gateway to Fedwire and the Automated Clearing House network – the plumbing that moves trillions of dollars each day. Without one, a bank must route payments through a correspondent, adding cost and counterparty risk. The case does not involve crypto tokens or blockchain transactions. The fight is about access to conventional payment infrastructure.

The Blockchain Association's brief, filed under docket 26-62, frames the Fed's denial as a template for systematic exclusion. If the central bank can block master accounts at its own discretion and courts defer to that judgment, any state-chartered bank serving an industry the Fed views unfavorably faces the same barrier, the group said.