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Several US lawmakers are unhappy with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and its focus on cryptocurrencies and fintechs during a recession caused by a pandemic.
Six congressmen criticized the banking regulator’s stance on cryptocurrency and stablecoin custody services, as well as its plans to offer a fintech card, in a curtly worded letter Tuesday asking whether active controller Brian Brooks had its top priorities during COVID-19 health and economic crises.
Brooks has no business to support crypto banking while millions of Americans are still waiting for economic aid, Reps wrote. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) And Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) In a letter co-signed by Deb Haaland (DN. M.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Jesús García (D-Ill.) And Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). They blew up OCC’s “unilateral actions” because called short-sighted, in their opinion, they could have jeopardized the “entire hierarchy” of dollar-denominated financial assets.
“The OCC plays an important role in providing stable forms of currency. However, your agency decisions have the potential to adversely affect banking and financial activities far beyond your jurisdiction, “they wrote.
The letter appears to be Congress’s first substantive criticism of a financial regulator that has actually thrown its weight behind cryptography. In July, OCC gave domestic banks permission to hold assets like bitcoin and ether for their customers. Then, in September, the agency allowed banks to start offering banking services to stablecoin issuers.
These twin decisions could take cryptocurrency mainstream in the US. But, according to lawmakers, OCC calls are not to be made unilaterally. They chastised Brooks, a former Coinbase attorney, for not consulting with Congress and other agencies earlier about its crypto regulation.
“We also wonder if this is an appropriate priority for the OCC in the midst of this pandemic,” the representatives wrote.
Cryptocurrency should not take precedence over access problems to American systemic banks, the representatives wrote. About 8% of Americans use encryption. But a total of 25% of their fellow citizens are without a bank or under the bank. Their shaky financials are deteriorating further amid the pandemic, representatives said.
“Arguably, the immediate needs of millions of at-risk individuals who have not yet received a stimulus check and / or cannot deposit their funds in a bank deserve more attention than an effort to increase access to financial services for the “banking community” Via cell phones, “they wrote.
Representatives asked Brooks to explain OCC’s position on stablecoin regulation and consumer protection by 10 December.
Wednesday’s letter is not the first asking Brooks to explain; Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote to Brooks in September, asking him to update the committee with the OCC findings and detail the next steps the regulatory agency would take. Crapo also called for clear rules on cryptocurrency services to be drawn up in the letter.
