Crypto is at 'a fork in the road,' OCC leader Brooks says
Brian Brooks, the acting head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said crypto regulation could either focus on safety for participants or could undo all progress. The latter half of 2020 has seen record Bitcoin (BTC) prices and a number of key regulatory developments, such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s, or OCC’s, approval of crypto custody at national banks. Legal policy for the digital asset industry currently faces an uncertain future, however, as a number of government roles are set to change heading into 2020, according to former Coinbase exec....
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Brooks is optimistic that regulators will find it easier to work with algorithms than with bankers. In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Tuesday, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks put forward the need to reconfigure banking regulations for an age of algorithms. Brooks, who currently leads the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, compared existing banking regulations to traffic laws. He further used the analogy of self-driving cars for new steps in decentralized finance. "Just as the original rules of the road protected us from other....
Brooks considers the migration of the financial system onto the internet "inevitable." The departing leader of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is convinced that the future of finance is blockchain-native, per a conversation with crypto analytics firm Elliptic on Wednesday.Described by Elliptic CEO Simone Maina as "a fairy godfather to the crypto industry," Brooks has been a leading light in U.S. federal policy towards crypto since taking over for Comptroller Joseph Otting in May. Today, he outlined views that follow an opinion piece he wrote for the Financial Times yesterday.....
Forthcoming regulations are “going to be a lot less bad than people will worry about.” Brian Brooks, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said regulators are not looking to “kill” Bitcoin (BTC) but instead ensure its smooth integration into the financial system. In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday, Brooks said: “We're very focused on getting this right. We are very focused on not killing this, and it is equally important that we develop the networks behind Bitcoin and other cryptos as it is that we prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.”The....
Congressional Democrats blasted the OCC and Acting Comptroller Brooks for spending time on crypto during a pandemic.
Voyager chair Philip Eytan cited Brian Brooks' experience at crypto companies and his leadership behind regulatory initiatives as reasons for the hire. Crypto trading platform Voyager Digital announced Bitfury CEO and former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has joined the firm’s board of directors.In a Monday announcement, Voyager chair Philip Eytan said Brooks had joined the board as an “independent, non-executive director,” citing the former comptroller’s experience at crypto companies and his leadership behind regulatory initiatives in the United States during his time at....