Caitlin Long Criticizes the US Federal Reserve for Maintaining an Anti-crypto Policy

Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, has criticized the US Federal Reserve for quietly maintaining a key anti-crypto policy

Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, has criticized the US Federal Reserve for quietly maintaining a key anti-crypto policy that favors big-bank-issued stablecoins, despite relaxing crypto partnership rules for banks.

In an April 27 thread on X, Long explained that while the Fed recently rescinded four prior crypto guidelines, it left intact a Jan. 27, 2023, statement issued in coordination with the Biden administration.

The guidance, according to Long, blocks banks from engaging directly in crypto assets and prohibits them from issuing stablecoins on permissionless blockchains.

“THE FED HAS MAINTAINED A REGULATORY PREFERENCE FOR PERMISSIONED STABLECOINS (ie, big-bank versions), Long stated.

This move gives traditional financial institutions a “head start” in launching private stablecoins while the broader market waits for stablecoin legislation to pass through Congress, she warned.

Long urges Congress to pass stablecoin bill

Long noted that once a federal stablecoin bill becomes law, it could override the Fed’s stance. “Congress should hurry up,” she urged.

This point was echoed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, who expressed her annoyance at the lack of progress in passing a stablecoin bill during a hearing with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on April 26.

Lummis said that she planned to raise the topic again in a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday.

Beyond stablecoins, Long pointed out how the Fed’s policy hampers banks from participating in crypto markets as principals, preventing them from market-making in assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or Solana (SOL).

She also noted operational challenges for banks looking to offer crypto custody services, particularly around covering gas fees for onchain transactions — a standard practice for crypto custodians but restricted under current Fed rules.

Summing up her concerns, Long argued that the Fed’s decision keeps “sand in the wheels” of banks entering crypto custody, while simultaneously advancing permissioned stablecoins backed by major financial institutions.

“The Fed definitely won on PR spin--its press release listed a long list of guidance it rescindedbut omitted ANY mention of the guidance it kept. That duped *a lot* of smart people, understandably,” she wrote.

Senator Lummis calls Fed’s move as ‘lip service’

Meanwhile, Senator Lummis slammed the Fed’s move as mere “lip service” in a separate post on Thursday, signaling potential legislative pushback in the near future.

Lummis mentioned the Fed’s policy statement in Section 9(13), which hasn’t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered “unsafe and unsound.”

However, other crypto executives praised the Fed’s announcement as a positive development for the industry. Strategy's Michael Saylor said in an April 25 X post that the Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin.”