The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will soon be under new management, and the top Republican there, Travis Hill, has outlined some pro-crypto policy ideas just before taking over, at least temporarily, if not as permanent. new president.
FDIC Vice Chairman Hill, who is expected to be among the candidates for the position once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, is calling on the US banking regulator to issue new guidelines for digital assets. He wants to get rid of the agency’s current, one-by-one approach to directing banks’ ties to cryptocurrencies.
“It has stifled innovation and contributed to a public perception that the FDIC is closed to the public if institutions are interested in anything related to blockchain or distributed ledger technology,” Hill said in comments on Jan. 10, also highlighting the controversial “pause” letters. unearthed by a Freedom of Information Act court battle with Coinbase Inc. He suggested those letters illustrated how, in its piecemeal approach to overseeing cryptocurrencies in the banking system, the agency steered many banks away from digital asset lines of business. .
“I still think a much better approach would have been, and continues to be, for agencies to clearly and transparently describe to the public what activities are legally permitted and how to conduct them in accordance with safe and sound standards,” he said. “And if regulatory approvals are needed, they must be acted upon in a timely manner, which has not been the case in recent years.”
Hill, who was appointed as a Republican member of the board two years ago, also criticized the FDIC’s role in pressuring banks to ditch crypto customers.
“A long-standing goal of the FDIC has been to decrease the number of people who are unbanked,” he said. “Efforts to displace law-abiding customers are unacceptable, regulators must work to put an end to them, and there is no place at the FDIC for anyone who has explicitly or implicitly pressured banks to stop serving law-abiding customers.” law-abiding customers.
Current President Martin Gruenberg has told agency employees that he will resign on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. In the absence of a president, the vice president assumes that role on an interim basis.
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