The Blockchain Association has backed a US Federal Reserve proposal to formally remove “reputation risk” from bank supervision, aiming to prevent crypto firms from being denied banking access.
The group said the concept had previously been used to justify debanking crypto companies, and called for its removal to be codified into formal regulatory rules.
“The Blockchain Association strongly encourages the Board to move expeditiously to finalise and codify the removal of reputation risk from its supervisory framework,”
Said Blockchain Association executive vice president, Ashok Pinto.
The push follows similar moves by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which both finalised rules earlier this month eliminating reputation risk from their oversight programmes.
Pinto argued that reputation risk had been used under policies such as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” to restrict crypto firms’ access to banking services, warning the issue could re-emerge under future administrations.
“Regulation is meant to uphold the integrity of our financial system, not to pick winners and losers based on the political winds of the day,”
He said, adding that consistent and objective standards are essential for regulated entities.
The proposal comes amid broader efforts to align US financial regulators, with the industry calling for harmonised rules to provide clarity, predictability, and neutrality across the banking system.