“CEO Brad Garlinghouse, whose company is seeking a federal bank license and Federal Reserve “master account,” called banker pushback “hypocritical.””, — write: www.coindesk.com
The crypto sector “should be held to the same standard” on money-laundering protections and other illicit-finance safeguards as traditional financial businesses, Garlinghouse said at DC Fintech Week on Wednesday, agreeing with traditional bankers on that point. But the industry — as a result — “should have the same access to infrastructure, like a Fed master account.”
“You can’t say one and then combat the other,” Garlinghouse said of the demands that crypto be held to similar regulatory standards. “It’s hypocritical, and I think we all should call them out for being anti-competitive in that regard.”
Fed master accounts would allow crypto firms more seamless integration into the US financial system and direct access to the central bank’s systems — a benefit at the core of traditional banking. But they’ve run into challenges in getting the Fed to grant such access, or even to explain how it could be obtained.
Ripple recently applied for a master account through its Standard Custody & Trust Co. affiliate — a New York trust — at the same time that the prominent crypto firm also sought a federal banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in July.
Garlinghouse’s company, which has also recently delved into the field of stablecoin issuers, said banks are finally taking them more seriously after years of difficulty in which the resistance from US regulators made the financial firms reluctant to engage.
“I had meetings yesterday in New York City, where banks that would not have talked to us three years ago are now leaning in and saying, how could we partner around this?” he said, confirming that those conversations involved Ripple’s stablecoin effort, known as RLUSD.
He said granting crypto firms such as Ripple and Circle master accounts will contribute to more stability, regulatory oversight and risk mitigation.
“It’s been a little disappointing to see some of the traditional banks start to lobby against things like that,” Garlinghouse said.
Combined spot and derivatives volumes fell 17.5% in September, continuing a four-year seasonal trend
- Trading activity falls 17.5% in September slowdown: Combined spot and derivatives volumes dropped to $8.12 trillion, marking the first decline after three months of growth. September has now seen reduced trading volume for the fourth consecutive year.
- Open interest reaches record high despite derivatives market share decline: Total open interest surged 3.2% to $204 billion and peaked at an all-time high of $230 billion during the month.
- Altcoins on CME outperform as Bitcoin and Ether futures decline: While CME’s total derivatives volume remained flat at $287 billion (-0.08%), SOL futures jumped 57.1% to $13.5 billion and XRP futures rose 7.19% to $7.84 billion. BTC and ETH futures fell 4.05% and 17.9% respectively.
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Erebor can operate as a national bank in the US, according to a charter approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
- The US agency that regulates national banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has granted a charter to Erebor Bank, a lender born of the technology sector.
- The OCC chief noted that this move should demonstrate how open the regulator is to digital asset activity in its regulated banks.
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