Congress US investigates whether the government puts pressure on banks to keep crypto

An influential committee in the US Congress starts an investigation into the way in which supervisors deal with banks who want crypto companies as a customer. According to whistleblowers, there would be political pressure to exclude these companies from the financial system. That again raises the question: does the government actively thwart Crypto?

Are banks consciously discouraged to work with Crypto?

The Supervisory and Public Affairs Committee In the House of Representatives wants to view documents of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). That is the supervisor of national banks in the United States. The reason for this is the suspicion that the OCC was encouraged banks to distance themselves from crypto companies, even if they simply met the rules.

Commission President James Comer states that there are indications that some banks stopped their relationship with cryptoparties because of pressure “from above”. In a letter to the acting regulator, he writes that the committee is investigating whether political preferences were leading in terminating these bank relationships.

Withdrawal of OCC guidelines central to research

An important moment was on March 7, when the OCC withdrew an existing directive (Interpretive Letter 1179). He gave banks clarity about how they could work safely with crypto companies. At the same time, a new directive was published, which partly removed that clarity.

Officially, banks no longer need to request separate permission for, for example, Stablecoin services or blockchain networks. But in practice they must meet strict risk rules. According to Comer, that can still be put off banks, and it seems as if the government is controlling crypto “through the back door”.

Political conflict about Crypto in the banking system

This issue touches on a broader debate in the US: does crypto get a fair chance within the existing financial system, or try to push it away?

According to critics, the government makes crypto entrepreneurs unnecessarily difficult, by frightening banks of cooperation. The committee therefore wants to know exactly how the OCC supervises banks with balance sheets up to 3 trillion dollars and how that is related to their involvement in digital assets.

The outcome of the investigation can have major consequences. If it turns out that supervisors have passed their book, there may be more political pressure to give Crypto more room within the banking system.