The board of directors at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is scheduled to deliberate on potential new regulations that could have consequences for businesses dealing in cryptocurrency, amidst ongoing claims of discriminatory banking practices.
According to a public notice released Thursday, the FDIC indicated that the board will consider a proposed rule aimed at “prohibiting the use of reputation risk by regulators.” While the agenda didn’t directly mention concerns about “debanking” related to digital currencies, Travis Hill, the acting chairman of the FDIC, has previously voiced concerns that regulators are using “reputation risk” as a reason to prevent certain banks from participating in crypto-related activities, like facilitating client transfers to exchanges.
U.S. President Donald Trump employed this term in an executive order from August intended to “guarantee free banking,” arguing that allowing regulators to consider reputation risk could lead to “politically motivated or illegal debanking.” The order did not explicitly reference digital assets.
Prior to Trump’s taking office and signing the executive order, numerous individuals and entities within the cryptocurrency sector alleged that they were being denied access to U.S. banking services. They claimed this was part of a coordinated effort by authorities due to their involvement with digital currencies.
Documents released to the public in December, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request made to the FDIC, revealed that the regulatory body had requested some financial institutions to “pause all crypto asset-related activity” back in 2022.
Related: Crypto debanking ‘continues’ as financial institutions adhere to Chokepoint strategies
These alleged actions, which some have labeled “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” became a prominent campaign issue for Trump and several Republican candidates during the 2024 elections. Following Trump’s presidential victory and the appointment of Hill as acting FDIC chair, Hill stated that the agency would be “re-evaluating [its] supervisory approach to activities involving crypto assets.”
Cointelegraph has reached out to the FDIC for their perspective on this matter, but a response had not been received by the time of this article’s publication.
Ongoing US government shutdown under Trump
The U.S. government initiated a shutdown at midnight on Tuesday after Congress failed to pass legislation extending funding beyond October 1.
While the government shutdown has significantly curtailed operations at U.S. financial regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the FDIC has affirmed that it will remain “open and operational” regardless of the duration of the ongoing political impasse.
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