The Federal Reserve has opened a two-month comment period on a proposal to permanently codify the removal of "reputational risk" from its bank supervision rules, the most binding step yet in a sweeping regulatory rollback that crypto advocates say puts Operation Choke Point 2.0 to bed.
"Discrimination by financial institutions on these bases is unlawful and does not have a role in the Federal Reserve's supervisory framework,” she added.
Sudhakar Lakshmanaraja, founder of Web3 policy body Digital South Trust, told Decrypt the proposal was a necessary corrective, but cautioned that informal pressure alone was never the whole picture.
"Banks are cautious about crypto not only due to AML compliance and volatility, but because crypto payment rails and stablecoins can challenge core banking economics like deposits and payments," he said.
Lakshmanaraja said Congress should “settle this through clear crypto market structure and stablecoin legislation such as the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act,” so lawful businesses get predictable banking access rules instead of “discretionary supervisory signals.”
“Basic banking services should not be weaponised against any lawful industry based on institutional interests and informal pressure,” he said.
Under the settlement, the FDIC also pledged to revise FOIA training materials and declared it would no longer maintain a blanket policy of categorically withholding bank supervisory documents.
The Fed’s public comment window closes within 60 days, after which a final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register.
