TradFi Industry Asks David Sacks To Include Federal Banking Agencies in President’s Working Group on Crypto

A network of groups representing the American financial industry is calling on the White House’s crypto czar David Sacks to include federal regulators in the President’s Working Group (PWG) on digital assets.

In a letter to Sacks, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Forum, the Bank Policy Institute, The Clearing House, the Association of Global Custodians, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) say they ” strongly support” Trump’s goals for the PWG.

However, the group says that it believes many regulations and instructions on digital assets from regulators must be rescinded or watered down, especially those requiring every crypto-related activity to go through extensive approval processes.

Additionally, the group says that since banks are now heavily involved with digital assets, federal banking regulators should be more included in developing the industry’s regulatory framework.

“…Given that banks’ involvement in digital asset-related activities is critical to helping the United States cement its leadership position in the global digital assets ecosystem, we urge you to reconsider their involvement. We believe these agencies’ participation in the PWG – and any other digital-asset and crypto-related work undertaken by the Administration – is imperative to help the PWG develop a comprehensive digital assets framework for all market participants and advance one of the Administration’s priorities to ‘support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy…

The traditional finance network says it is “critically important that the federal banking agencies be included in the PWG” given that banks are an “essential component to the financial and payments system.”

“Participation of the federal banking agencies in the PWG will help ensure that the goals of the executive order are met.

As discussed above, the federal banking agencies’ policies and guidance issued over the last few
years regarding digital assets activities have hindered banks’ ability to engage in those activities, and, in
turn, the competitiveness of the United States financial system, as non-US firms are not subject to
similar requirements. Simply put, the United States will not be able to achieve a leadership position in
digital assets and financial technology under the status quo.”