Blaming crypto for some bank failures is not sitting well with crypto advocates. 😠
Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, has recently expressed concerns over the “de-banking” of certain cryptocurrency-related businesses by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In a letter to the FDIC, Emmer has asked for more information on the agency’s criteria for targeting these businesses, as well as their impact on legitimate crypto businesses.
He’s not alone in condemning regulators and other politicians using the current banking FUD to attack crypto further.
Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest, has decided to call out the regulators on their unfair treatment of cryptocurrency. In a recent interview, Wood put regulators on blast, claiming that they are using crypto as a scapegoat for their own lapses in oversight.
I am baffled that banks and regulators could not convince the Fed that disaster loomed. Did they not understand that the asset/liability mismatch – normal in most circumstances for banks – was untenable as deposits left the banking system for the first time since the 1930s?
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) March 16, 2023
The FDIC did respond late last night, with a spokesperson denying it would require any purchaser of Signature bank to give up the crypto business a the bank.
But that hasn’t stopped the Blockchain Association, which is quite fired up and calling out financial regulators over the recent banking crisis. The association is demanding documents and communications related to the “de-banking of crypto firms” and wants to know if regulators’ actions “improperly contributed” to the collapse of three banks.
We’ll update you as this story develops. 📝