Anti-Crypto Federal Reserve Board Member Michael Barr Exits Key Role

Michael Barr, a Federal Resrve Board Member has stepped down from his role as the Vice Chairman for Banking Supervision about 2 weeks before the next administration. Per the announcement from the Federal Reserve, Barr will officially relinquish his role as the Supervision head on February 28. His update has stirred a major update discussion about what this means for the crypto industry.

New Era For Federal Reserve and Crypto Relationship?

According to the official update, Michael Barr will stay on as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors. Per his antecedents as the banking sector supervisor, Michael Barr is known to hold strong positions about the industry regarding regulations.

Specifically, he has always advocated for stablecoin regulations in the United States. Notably, the resignation as Bank supervisor came amid reports that President Donald Trump do not plan to renew his nomination.

Per Fox Business Journalist, Eleanor Terrett, Michael Barr remains one of the reasons behind the strained Federal Reserve and crypto relationship.

While the crypto industry considers Michael Barr an ally to Sentaro Elizabeth Warren, there are proves to show he might have an anti-crypto agenda. These include evidence of his meetings with the Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Nobody met with Gensler more than Barr on a consistent basis. pic.twitter.com/7wuSOM1n8k

— Cowboy.X (@cowboycrypto313) January 6, 2025

Gensler announced his resignation in November and President-elect Donald Trump picked Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. With the departure of Michael Barr and Gary Gensler from the key roles, there are expectations crypto regulations will improve.

Crypto Industry Winning

With barely 14 days to the inauguration of Donald Trump, the crypto industry is arguably winning. Beyond the limitations imposed by Federal Reserve that led to the collapse of Silvergate Bank, many expect comprehensive reforms.

Already, Coinbase Exchange has handed the industry an evidence that shows regulatory overreach. In a recent update, Coinbase secured unredacted FDIC files that shows the commission asked banks to choke out crypto firms.

For these trends, industry leaders are calling for a broad-based probe of Operation Chokepoint 2.0, a move that might also involve the Federal Reserve.