THE US regulatorsbacked by the Biden government, allegedly orchestrated the fall of pro-crypto banks like Silvergate and Signature, argue some observers. Far from there, replies Adrienne Harris, NYDFS Superintendent. There had indeed been liquidity problems cause of their downfall.
Signature Bank, a result of the “Choke Point 2.0” operation?
Last March, Adrienne Harris already explained that: “ Signature bank had a large depositor baseso the idea that it was a crypto bank is not accurate “. A position that she had to renew recently, reveals The Wall Street Journal in a publication dated April 5.
According to the director of the New York State Department of Financial Services, the closure of Signature Bank was motivated by liquidity problems. To associate the bankruptcy of this institution with the fact that it had clients from the crypto sector would be “ ridiculous “, underlined Adrienne Harris during her speech at the Links NYC conference of Chainalysis.
Also, she refused to acknowledge that the Signature Bank case reveals“Choke Point 2.0” operation.
As a reminder, this operation made in USA aim for the limiting the access of certain risky sectors to the services of American banks. Between 2013 and 2015, for example, the DOJ carried out offensives against banks suspected of being linked to ” companies potentially involved in fraud or money laundering cases “, precise Cointelegraph.
What about NYDFS’s role in all of this?
The New York State Department of Financial Services intervened on March 12 for depositor protection needs. Thus, the New York regulator did not hesitate to place Signature Bank under the supervision of the Federal Depostit Insurance Corp.
The NYDFS, through Ms. Harris, also wanted to reassure that it had no intention of putting thecrypto industry down. However, it will be necessary to catch up a so-called lack of maturity in compliance programs. In other words, speeding up the regulation of cryptocurrencies.
” There is still a lack of maturity regarding the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and cyber security. We look forward to the day when these systems mature and adapt to changing business “said Adrienne Harris.
Note however that the NYDFS knows how to bare its fangs when needed. Last February, for example, he ordered Paxos to stop issuing BUSD because of the existence guidelines applicable to stablecoins launched in 2022.
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