Texas Representative Al Green, ranking member of a House subcommittee on oversight and investigations, criticized US President Donald Trump for pushing his own “deregulatory pro-crypto agenda” while launching a controversial memecoin.
In a Feb. 6 hearing of the House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Rep. Green, a Democrat, immediately challenged the narrative Republican leadership made in claiming the previous administration had “put crypto in the crosshairs” of US regulators.
The Texas representative said the colloquial term Operation Choke Point 2.0 — used by some lawmakers and crypto executives claiming former US President Joe Biden’s administration had orchestrated attempts to debank the industry — was a “fake program, never initiated.”
Rep. Al Green addressing lawmakers on Feb. 6. Source: House Financial Services Committee
According to Rep. Green, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and US financial regulators under the previous administration warned financial institutions about potential business ties to crypto firms rather than ordering them to halt services — a claim echoed by Better Markets banking policy director Shayna Olesiuk, who testified at the hearing.
“Regulators asking banks to consider the risks associated with the cryptocurrency industry does not amount to debanking,” said Rep. Green.
The Texas representative hinted that lawmakers should turn their attention to Trump’s memecoin, which he launched before taking office on Jan. 17. Neither subcommittee chair Dan Meuser nor Financial Services Committee chair French Hill commented on the TRUMP coin in their opening statements.
“Regulation by exhaustion,” says Coinbase CLO
The Feb. 6 hearing appeared to be based on some industry executives claiming to have been cut off from traditional banking services based on their ties to crypto. A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit led by Coinbase showed the FDIC issued letters to banks in 2022 suggesting they “pause all crypto asset-related activity.”
Related: Senator Warren doesn’t take the crypto bait in debanking hearing
Speaking at the hearing, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal called the US government’s approach “regulation by exhaustion.” He claimed the FDIC deceived the public by saying crypto firms were entitled to the same banking services as other companies while issuing letters of concern.
“You had question after question raised if even a hint of interest was shared that the bank wanted to enter into a basic service for its customers involving crypto or to facilitate basic crypto transactions,” said Grewal.
The Feb. 6 hearing was the first meeting of the oversight subcommittee in the 119th session of the US Congress under a Republican-led House of Representatives and Senate. Lawmakers with the Senate Banking Committee held a similar hearing on Feb. 5, discussing debanking among marginalized groups.
In a separate announcement in the House on Feb. 5, Rep. Green called for Trump’s impeachment over the President’s policy for the US to take control of the Gaza Strip. At the time of publication, congressional records did not show the Texas lawmaker had filed articles of impeachment.
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