Regulation
Donald Verrilli Says US Is “Debanking Cryptocurrencies”
Donald B. Verrilli, former Solicitor General under the Obama administration, has spoken out on cryptocurrency regulation in the United States. A member of Grayscale Investments, Verrilli has direct experience managing the bottleneck around cryptocurrency regulation in the country.
Cryptocurrency Regulation: Debanking Cryptocurrency Innovators
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett highlighted Verrilli’s stance, referring to the Custodia Bank legal battle in the United States. Custodia Bank and the Federal Reserve are arguing over the latter’s failure to issue a master account to the former.
🚨NEW: Verrilli (Obama’s solicitor general who was in office during the original Operation Chokepoint) and Clement (Bush’s solicitor general) have clashed on a number of Supreme Court cases over the years, but the two men have come together to support @custodiabank
and the #crypto… https://t.co/wGgoqZM0x7
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) July 4, 2024
The ruling in the case went in favor of the Federal Reserve, but the case is far from over. Verrilli said the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) could have a role to play in the case. In a statement co-written with Paul Clement, President Bush’s solicitor general, the two men shed light on the OCC’s directive to the banks.
While the regulator called the guidelines informal, they explicitly limited banks’ ability to do business with cryptocurrency companies. For an industry that is innovating at a rapid pace, Verrilli and Clement noted that the requirements for banking cryptocurrencies were difficult to meet.
As the duo tackles the challenges of regulating cryptocurrencies, analysts say the political terrain is shifting. While Eleanor Terrett revealed Verrilli and Clement’s position, she acknowledged that they have clashed in the past over Supreme Court cases.
Market experts believe that the US is going backwards and may need futuristic cryptocurrency regulations to get back on track.
Legal battle over cryptocurrency exchanges
The digital currency ecosystem is not immune to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) grip. In their article, Verrilli and Clement cite Coinbase’s recent lawsuit against the SEC and FDIC.
Despite Coinbase’s resistance, the SEC has continued to pursue lawsuits against the industry’s largest companies. Currently, the regulator has ongoing cases with Ripple Labs, Uniswap and more recently ConsenSys among others.
The crypto ecosystem is more united than ever, with coalitions funding the upcoming US elections to help more crypto-focused lawmakers land seats in Washington.
Learn more: UK Labour Party Wins Exit Poll, Is Labour Good For Bitcoin?