Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve's vice chairman for oversight, resigned on Monday, a move welcomed by cryptocurrency industry advocates as a potential shift toward more pro-digital asset policies.

righteousness He said He will step down from his position on February 28, although he will continue to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

He attributed his departure to “disagreements over the position,” according to A statement.

It comes as appointments to US federal regulators have become highly politicized in the run-up to the inauguration of crypto-friendly President-elect Trump later this month.

The departure of a top cop in the US banking sector, who has long called for the implementation of “proper guardrails” for the digital assets industry, has drawn cheers from some corners of the cryptocurrency community.

“Barr stepping down is a huge win,” said Samuel Armes, founder of the Florida Blockchain Business Association. Decryption. “We need to disqualify any appointees associated with Elizabeth Warren and Biden...to ensure (the federal government) returns to impartiality toward our industry.”

As the second-highest-ranking official at the Federal Reserve, Barr wielded significant power over the US banking system — a lifeline for some U.S. cryptocurrency companies.

Major cryptocurrency exchanges rely on banks to facilitate fund transfers that enable customers to buy and sell digital assets on their platforms.

But some of these companies have been excluded from financial institutions in recent years after federal regulators pressured banks to limit their interactions with cryptocurrency companies.

While it's unclear whether the Federal Reserve has directly pressured banks to cut ties with digital asset companies, some cryptocurrency insiders, including Gemini's Patrick Liu, blame Barr for the banking cancellations that have hindered... The American cryptocurrency industry in recent years.

“The environment for the cryptocurrency industry in the past four years in the United States has been unsustainable,” Liu said. Decryption.

“Many (people in the industry) believe that government organizations have negatively impacted the 'de-banking' of crypto companies... steering US companies away from working with crypto clients and partners,” he added.

Barr's departure comes a few weeks after the call SEC chief anti-cryptocurrency chief Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizarraga They indicated last November that they would resign from their positions when pro-crypto president-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month.

It also comes shortly after members of the Senate Banking Committee Last month, he canceled a meeting to reappoint Biden-nominated Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Carolyn Crenshaw To her position at the agency largely responsible for regulating the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.

However, the changing of the guard at the Federal Reserve and the SEC is just “part of the puzzle” that must be solved to ensure a brighter future for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, said Austin Campbell, an assistant professor at NYU Stern. Decryption.

Federal agencies such as the Treasury Department, the IRS, and FinCEN also exercise enormous authority to issue guidance affecting digital asset companies and holders in the United States.

“Convincing U.S. banking regulators to embrace technology transformation so that our banking system can join the rest of the world in using modern technology is a much bigger hill to climb,” Campbell said.

Modified by Sebastian Sinclair