US Senate approves nomination of pro-cryptocurrency OCC chair

Jonathan Gould, a former Bit Fury executive and cryptocurrency supporter, has been appointed as the next chairman of the OCC through a Senate vote. In this role, he can make national banking policies more crypto-friendly.

President Trump nominated Gould for this position a few months ago, and his confirmation could open new opportunities. However, his role could further centralize authority over cryptocurrencies, which might have a counterproductive effect.

Senate Approval Took Several Months... What Will Jonathan Gould's First Policy Be?

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under the US Treasury is an important part of often-overlooked federal financial regulation.

In recent months, for example, it has enabled BTC ETF option trading and allowed banks to expand cryptocurrency custody services. Today, the Senate confirmed Jonathan Gould as the next OCC chairman:

Gould has a long career in the industry: before his OCC nomination, he was the chief legal officer of the blockchain infrastructure company Bit Fury.

President Trump directly nominated him for this office a few months ago, and his imminent confirmation could accelerate several unresolved policy issues.

The OCC is primarily responsible for overseeing the US banking sector, which could give Gould significant influence over cryptocurrencies during his five-year term. Previously, when serving as the OCC's senior legal counsel, he was firmly supportive of cryptocurrencies and supported crypto-friendly stablecoin regulation.

Now that he is taking the helm at the OCC, Gould can further facilitate integration between cryptocurrencies and banks. Possible measures to support this could include declaring stablecoins as essential elements of financial infrastructure or issuing pro-crypto guidelines.

This is a significant improvement from the systematic de-banking campaign of a few years ago.

However, there are still concerns that this strategy could have significant drawbacks. If Gould turns the OCC into a pro-crypto tool, it will centralize regulatory authority away from state government control.

But if anti-crypto political figures take over federal agencies, it will become more difficult for local jurisdictions to continue their supportive policies.

Ultimately, it is difficult to predict the long-term political consequences during this very unstable moment.