U.S. lawmaker Tom Emmer said President Biden’s administration was weaponizing market chaos to kill crypto.
The pro-crypto lawmaker added that he sent Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Gruenberg an investigative letter seeking additional information on the regulator’s actions against crypto-friendly banks.
Emmer highlights anti-crypto moves by regulators
In a Fox Business interview, Emmer argued that claims that crypto was responsible for Signature Bank’s failure were false as the bank only provided banking services to crypto firms. According to Emmer, the head of New York’s financial services department admitted that its decision had nothing to do with crypto.
A spokesperson for the financial regulator said:
“[Signature bank closure] was based on the current status of the bank and its ability to do business in a safe and sound manner.”
Meanwhile, Emmer referenced the comments of former U.S. lawmaker Barney Frank — a board member of Signature bank. Frank previously said the regulators might have taken control of the bank because of its crypto interest. The former lawmaker added that the bank had no insolvency threats as of when it was closed.
However, New York regulators denied Frank’s claim, saying it “has been responsible for facilitating well-regulated crypto activities for several years.”
Besides that, the pro-crypto lawmaker highlighted a Reuters report that said any buyer of Signature bank must give up its crypto business. The FDIC has also reportedly denied this report saying banks are not “prohibited nor discouraged” from providing their services to any sector.
Additionally, Emmer noted that the Federal Reserve’s instant payments settlement system FedNow suggests that it is competing with private entities. The FedNow is scheduled to go live in July — enabling banks to process payments 24/7 and within seconds.
The VP of Research at Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platform Pierre Rochard agrees with Emmer’s view. Rochard said:
“It does look like the Fed is abusing regulatory mechanisms to engage in anti-competitive monopolist behavior.”
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