Crypto Turnaround at Fed With Kraken Decision and Possible New Chair

Recent actions suggest a significant shift toward digital asset acceptance at the US Federal Reserve. Kraken Financial, the exchange's Wyoming-chartered bank, became the first digital asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account, granting it direct access to the Fed's payment infrastructure, which improves efficiency for fiat transactions. This account appears to be a 'skinny account,' which carries restrictions like balance caps and no discount window borrowing privileges, a structure proposed by Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller to manage risk for nonbank entities. However, this decision drew criticism from banking groups like the ICBA and BPI, who expressed concern over granting access outside the traditional regulatory framework without a finalized policy. Furthermore, President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor who has expressed positive views on Bitcoin, to potentially chair the Fed, signaling a possible pro-crypto leadership shift, despite ongoing tensions between the White House and the current Fed leadership under Jerome Powell.

(Source：Cointelegraph)