FDIC to review rule that may shape banks’ crypto relationships

An FDIC meeting will follow up on acting chair Travis Hill’s statements that he would support Trump’s executive order targeting “politicized or unlawful debanking activities.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s board of directors is set to discuss proposed rules that could impact crypto firms amid allegations of debanking.

In a Thursday notice, the FDIC said its board would consider a notice of proposed rulemaking “regarding prohibition on use of reputation risk by regulators.” Though the agenda did not explicitly mention debanking concerns tied to digital assets, acting FDIC chair Travis Hill has previously criticized regulators for using “reputation risk” as justification to prevent some banks from engaging in crypto activities, such as allowing clients to send funds to exchanges.

US President Donald Trump used the term in an August executive order “guaranteeing free banking,” claiming that having regulators access reputation risk could result in “politicized or unlawful debanking.” The order did not specifically mention digital assets.

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