US lawmaker says President Biden administration is weaponizing market chaos to kill crypto
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 claimed 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 finance department admitted that the decision had nothing to do with crypto.
A spokesperson for the Norwegian 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 may have taken control of the bank because of the crypto interest. The former lawmaker added that the bank had no insolvency threats when it was closed.
However, regulators in New York denied 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 would have to divest its crypto business. The FDIC also reportedly denied this report, saying banks are not “prohibited or discouraged” from offering 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 – allowing banks to process payments 24/7 and within seconds.
VP of Research at Bitcoin mining company Riot Platform Pierre Rochard agrees with Emmer’s view. Rochard so:
“It appears that the Fed is abusing regulatory mechanisms to engage in anti-competitive monopolistic conduct.”
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