The co-founder of Gemini, Tyler Winklevoss, did not hold back in his recent post where he called the “reset” of Vice President Kamala Harris’ crypto stance a “scam.” This comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s crackdown and a roundtable discussion that Harris failed to attend on August 8th.
Winklevoss took aim at the U.S. Federal Reserve’s enforcement action against Customers Bank, a known crypto-friendly bank. The 13-page enforcement action issued by the Federal Reserve requires Customers Bank to provide thirty days’ written notice before entering into a new banking relationship with crypto firms.
As Customers Bank is one of the few crypto-friendly banks in the U.S., Winklevoss sees this enforcement action as creating a choke point. This means that the Federal Reserve now stands as a “direct gatekeeper” between crypto companies and their ability to open new bank accounts.
Winklevoss strongly believes that this move by the Federal Reserve goes against the principles of decentralized regulation. He argues that banks should have the autonomy to choose who they serve, rather than having decisions centralized and controlled by the Fed.
The accusations made by the Federal Reserve regarding Customers Bank’s risk management practices and compliance with anti-money laundering laws were labeled as “non-allegation allegations” by Winklevoss. He found the allegations to be vague and unsupported by concrete evidence.
Winklevoss goes so far as to suggest that the Federal Reserve’s true intentions behind the enforcement action are far more sinister. He believes that the Fed’s goal is to gain unlawful control over Customers Bank’s decision-making process and dictate which companies and industries they can serve.
In a somewhat ominous warning, Winklevoss suggests that the Federal Reserve is merely “playing nice” with this enforcement action. He hints that if Harris were to win the election in November, the Federal Reserve’s tactics may become even more aggressive.
Overall, Winklevoss’ critique of Vice President Harris’ crypto stance and the Federal Reserve’s enforcement action against Customers Bank raises key questions about the role of centralized regulation in the crypto industry and the potential implications for crypto-friendly banks in the United States.