Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that the reserve bank plan is beginning a new phase and crypto will no longer have to be on the fringes while introducing another prototype in order to enhance reserve bank services. Waller added that they intended to send a message that this is a new phase for the Federal Reserve in payments and that the DeFi sector is not viewed with “suspicion or scorn.”
THANK YOU, Gov Waller, for realizing the terrible mistake the Fed made in blocking payments-only banks from Fed master accounts, and re-opening the access rules the Fed enacted to keep @custodiabank out. The Fed told courts that such firms would put financial stability at risk…
— Caitlin Long 🔑⚡️🟠 (@CaitlinLong_) October 21, 2025
Waller also mentioned recently during the Fed’s Payments Innovation Conference that industry participants are welcomed and encouraged to the conversation on the future of payments in the US and on their home turf— something that would have “been unimaginable a few years ago.”
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) and crypto / web3 are now being “woven into the fabric of the payment and financial systems,” Waller acknowledged.
Waller is notably among one of seven members of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve. He had been nominated to the role back in 2020 by US President Donald Trump during his initial term.
His statements seem to signal another significant change in how the Biden administration had previously approached crypto innovation. During the last year, the Fed has taken back certain questionable guidance on crypto-assets as well as stablecoin transactions that had tried to prevent or discourage banking institutions from taking part in these new industry, and also proceeded to remove “reputational risk” as part of its review program for banks. This was considered a small victory for the crypto sector against its debanking.
Waller also stated that he had requested the Fed to consider the possibility of a “payment account,” which he claimed would be helpful for initiatives that are trying to improve upon the existing payments ecosystem.
This payment account concept may offer some basic Federal Reserve payment services to eligible institutions that currently complete payment services mainly via a third-party bank that maintains a fully-authorized master account, Waller explained.
He referred to the idea as a sort of “skinny master account” and said it may have certain limitations or restrictions around interest as well as overdraft privileges.
A master account enables FIs with direct access to the Fed’s payment systems and offers direct access to the US money supply. This is currently offered to financial institutions operating across the US.
Service providers who may not have such master accounts are usually dependent on partner banking service providers that are able to maintain master accounts just to offer their services.
Waller further explained that the account may provide access to the Federal Reserve payment conduits while also controlling for various risks to the Federal Reserve as well as the payment system.
Waller added that to control the size of the accounts and associated impacts on the Fed‘s balance sheet, the reserve banks may not have to pay interest on balances in a payment account, and balance caps could be applied.
The Fed had been engaged in meetings on October 21, 2025 during the Payments Innovation conference. This reportedly featured various panels focused on tokenization as well as stablecoin adoption.