Fed Vice-Chair Michael Barr Resigns Amid Accusations of Impacting Crypto Banking Providers

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice-Chair for Supervision Michael Barr has introduced his resignation from the place forward of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White Home.

His departure has sparked reactions from lawmakers and crypto business leaders, who identified his controversial position in shaping U.S. banking insurance policies regarding digital belongings.

A Polarizing Determine in Banking and Crypto

In a January 6 release, the Fed acknowledged that Barr would depart his submit on the finish of February and even earlier if the brand new president discovered an appropriate successor. Nevertheless, it famous that the authorized scholar would stay on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Barr has served because the Fed’s Vice Chair for Supervision since July 2022. The workplace was created within the aftermath of the 2008 International Monetary Disaster to supply extra transparency and accountability for the U.S. central financial institution’s supervision and regulation of the nation’s monetary system.

In his time, the 58-year-old has been at loggerheads with the fledgling crypto business, particularly following his push to offer the Federal Reserve the ability to manage and implement legal guidelines in opposition to digital asset issuers in the USA.

Barr as soon as acknowledged that the financial authority would seemingly deem it “unsafe and unsound” for banks to carry crypto-assets instantly on their stability sheets. Many within the business blame that perspective for limiting the power of U.S. monetary establishments to have interaction with the cryptocurrency sector.

Current revelations about unredacted letters acquired from the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company (FDIC) by way of authorized efforts by Coinbase appear to bolster these claims. The paperwork allegedly present a coordinated effort to gradual or halt banks’ crypto-related actions, together with primary Bitcoin transactions, custody providers, and crypto funds.

Allegations of Overreach

At a November 2024 grilling earlier than the Home Monetary Providers Committee, Barr and his fellow regulators had been criticized by Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn, who accused them of stifling digital forex improvements.

“You’ve all engaged in an anti-crypto campaign throughout your time right here. You might have helped make the USA a second-tier place for digital belongings,” mentioned Nunn.

Reacting to information of Barr’s impending exit, Wyoming Senator and crypto advocate Cynthia Lummis issued a statement alleging that the Fed governor had “illegally elevated his energy at the price of Wyoming’s digital asset business,” additional accusing him of failing to uphold his duties because the Vice Chair of Supervision.

The Yale alumnus is the most recent anti-crypto official to resign from their place following Donald Trump’s crypto-fueled victory in final yr’s U.S. presidential polls. Gary Gensler, head of the Securities and Trade Fee (SEC), introduced his departure on November 21, 2024, forestalling a promise by Trump to fireside him on his first day in workplace.

Equally, Barr has cited the “threat of a dispute over the place,” ostensibly with the incoming administration, as a part of his cause for leaving.