US lawmaker Tom Emmer said President Biden’s administration weaponized market chaos to kill crypto.
The pro-crypto legislator added that he sent Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Gruenberg an investigative letter seeking additional information about 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 Department of Financial Services admitted that its decision had nothing to do with crypto.
A spokesperson for the Financial Supervisory Authority said:
“[Signature bank closure] was based on the bank’s current status and its ability to conduct business in a safe and sound manner.”
Meanwhile, Emmer referred to the comments of former US lawmaker Barney Frank – a Signature bank board member. Frank previously said that regulators could have taken control of the bank because of its crypto interest. The former lawmaker added that the bank had no insolvency threats when it was closed.
However, New York regulators rejected Frank’s claim, saying it “has been responsible for facilitating well-regulated crypto activities for several years.”
In addition, the pro-crypto lawmaker highlighted a Reuters report that said any buyer of Signature bank must abandon its crypto business. The FDIC also reportedly dismissed this report, saying banks are not “prohibited or discouraged” from providing their services to any sector.
In addition, Emmer noted that the Federal Reserve’s instant payment settlement system FedNow suggests that it competes with private entities. FedNow is scheduled to go live in July – enabling banks to process payments 24/7 and within seconds.
VP of Research at Bitcoin mining company Riot Platform Pierre Rochard agrees with Emmer’s point of view. Rochard said:
“It appears that the Fed is abusing regulatory mechanisms to engage in anti-competitive monopolistic conduct.”
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