Court Closes Custodia Fight With Federal Reserve Just As Fed Opens Master-account Door

A federal court ended Custodia Bank's legal battle with the Federal Reserve over access to a master account, closing the case at an ironic moment — the Fed had recently signaled greater openness to granting crypto-focused banks access to the payments system. Custodia, founded by Caitlin Long, had spent years challenging the Fed's denial of its master account application, arguing the central bank improperly blocked a state-chartered bank from accessing the payments infrastructure. The court's decision effectively ends the legal avenue for this particular challenge. No fraud indicators present. This is a regulatory development relevant to the broader question of how crypto-native financial institutions can access traditional banking infrastructure.