Biden to Name Former Ripple Advisor as OCC Head: WSJ
1 min read
According to a report today from The Wall Street Journal, President Biden is expected to nominate Michael Barr to serve as Comptroller of the Currency.
Like his predecessor, Barr would bring cryptocurrency experience to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a US Treasury office that regulates national banks and credit unions.
In addition to working on Dodd-Frank banking reforms in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, when he was Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury, Barr was named an advisor to Ripple Labs in 2015.
Ripple has a major stake in XRP, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. That’s caught the SEC’s attention. It’s sued Ripple Labs and two of its executives for more than $1 billion in relation to alleged sales of an unregistered security—XRP.
Outgoing acting OCC head Brian Brooks also had links to the crypto industry. Before taking over the role in May, Brooks was Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase.
During his short term, Brooks sought to bring cryptocurrency into the mainstream finance world. Late in his tenure, the OCC issued guidance that banks could use blockchains and stablecoins for payment activities.
