Sherrod Brown, chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, has proposed revoking banking licenses from cryptocurrency firms Anchorage, Paxos and Protego.
Brown sent a letter to Michael Hsu, Director of the Office of the Comptroller of the United States of America (OCC). He demanded that the department reconsider the principles that guided it under the ex-director of the OCC, Brian Brooks (Brian Brooks). In particular, the senator asked Hsu to “take away” the federal banking license from Anchorage, Paxos and Protego, who received it this year. The senator fears that due to the high volatility of cryptocurrencies, their recent fall and market manipulation of digital assets, the OCC will not be able to regulate the activities of these organizations, as it does with traditional banks.
“Paxos, Protego and Anchorage are committed to expanding access to cryptocurrencies and the latest technology. Having received permission from the regulator to conduct banking activities in the country, they call their services reliable and safe. Such firms should not call themselves banks if they cannot meet the strict requirements for conventional banks, ”Brown said in the letter.
Brown questioned that OCC had done due diligence before issuing licenses to the firms in question. He referred to the fact that the chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the US House of Representatives, Maxine Waters, has already called on the OCC to be more harsh on digital asset firms.
Once licensed by the OCC, they can legally take on some of the responsibilities of traditional banks. While such companies cannot interact with the US Federal Reserve (FRS) to settle settlements, they can hold their clients’ assets by accepting deposits through a sub-custodian insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Hsu already said this week that the OCC could take a stricter approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry.
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