In a new opinion piece for the Financial Times, Brian Brooks, the current US Comptroller of the Currency, argues that decentralized finance (DeFi) could pave the way for a kind of “self-driving bank.” With a set of new regulations in place, says Brooks, national bank charters might one day be granted to DeFi protocols.

DeFi protocols are automated, algorithmically-governed money management systems that essentially skip out on the need for human moderation in financial services and products.