The US financial industry watchdogs are preparing a joint statement with new regulatory guidelines applicable to the cryptocurrency industry. As reported by Bloomberg, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is close to issuing a review of the blockchain sector, and the conclusions are likely to be unfriendly to crypto.
Key takeaways:
- The OCC is currently under the helm of Michael Hsu, who took office in May of this year. Hsu has been critical of the crypto sector in the past, comparing blockchain financial instruments and the crypto community to the toxic financial culture that brought about the 2008 financial crisis.
- The new crypto guidelines will be based upon the recently concluded “crypto sprint” review, which was conducted by several government agencies, including the OCC, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
- “The forthcoming releases will clarify that safety and soundness is paramount. We will proceed carefully and cautiously and will hold banks to the same,” Hsu explained at a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia hosted technology summit earlier this week.
- Hsu also said that the agencies working on the report are “approaching crypto activities very carefully with a high degree of caution.”
- Earlier this week, the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, issued a list of 10 fundamental rights for crypto users, calling on industry leaders and policymakers to work together on the regulatory framework that would satisfy both parties and be beneficial to the average crypto user.
- The Biden administration has not been particularly favorable towards crypto. The controversial bipartisan infrastructure bill included ambiguous language designed to tax digital assets, the SEC has repeatedly rejected Bitcoin spot ETF proposals, while the President’s Working Group has been pushing for more stringent stablecoin regulation.
