By Alexander Zhdanov Read 2 min Read 7 Posted on 04/17/2023 Updated on 04/17/2023
Cryptocurrency advocacy group Blockchain Association (BA) has sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about a recently closed cryptocurrency bank to two regulators.
On April 14, the association said that in addition to the FOIA request, it also submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIL) request to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the New York City Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
The group is seeking more information on banking deposits with cryptocurrency companies following the seizure of Signature Bank and the collapse of Silvergate Bank.
BA stated that his request to NYDFS is as follows:
“Trying to understand whether the closure of Signature Bank was the result of the bank’s insolvency or a decision to send an anti-cryptocurrency message despite the bank being fully solvent.”
The association also said it was investigating whether Silvergate’s failure “was the result of a politically motivated decision by the FHFA-controlled Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to take very and unusual actions to recover the loan. A sum given to Silvergate a few months ago loan.”
1/ Following last month’s FOIA request to investigate possible de-banking of cryptocurrency firms, today the BA submitted additional public information requests to the FHFA and NYDFS. https://t.co/x6sPRkUhBx pic.twitter.com/ZSeCSBiIaR
– Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) April 14, 2023
In early March, parent company Silvergate announced it was “winding down” a bank focused on cryptocurrencies and technology. Rival Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on March 10 due to massive banking transactions, and on March 12, the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and others closed Signature Bank.
The association initially asked the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for more information on the March 16 cancellation of banking operations.
On April 16, the Blockchain Association and the DeFi Education Foundation filed a brief with the U.S. District Court seeking sanctions against Tornado Cash.
Related: Cryptocurrency regulation enacted by Congress, not SEC: Blockchain Association
The Blockchain Association is a cryptocurrency industry advocacy and lobbying group with approximately one hundred members including industry leaders, investors, companies, organizations and projects.
The association spent $1.9 million lobbying the U.S. government in 2022, according to campaign finance data firm OpenSecrets.
Cointelegraph reached out to the Blockchain Association for more information but did not immediately hear back.
Source of information: Compiled from CRYPTOHAMSTER by 0x Information.Copyright belongs to the author Александр Жданов, without permission, may not be reproduced