What to know:
- President Donald Trump issued a series of nominations for key crypto regulators, such as the OCC and CFPB, according to a document listing major nominees expecting Senate confirmations.
- Trump appointed former top lawyer at the OCC, Jonathan Gould, to oversee that banking agency, potentially adding a leader well-acquainted with crypto as the former chief legal officer at Bitfury.
- At the CFPB, Trump has chosen a Republican from the FDIC to lead the consumer agency, which has drawn significant media attention this week as his administration aims to sideline it.
President Donald Trump is nearing the completion of naming key figures for regulatory positions that will shape the future oversight of the crypto industry. This includes lawyer Jonathan Gould as a nominee to manage the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency overseeing U.S. national banks.
A widely circulated White House nominations document shows Trump has settled on Gould, a partner at law firm Jones Day and former crypto executive. The president also plans to nominate the FDIC’s Jonathan McKernan to lead the CFPB, indicating the nominee slate is close to full.
Gould briefly served as chief legal officer for Bitfury, following his stint as senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel during Trump’s first term. He collaborated with CEO Brian Brooks at Bitfury, who Trump had appointed as the acting comptroller at the OCC and later attempted to make permanent. Brooks promoted the opening of U.S. banking for crypto firms, establishing Anchorage Digital as the only crypto bank chartered by the agency.
“For crypto, we believe Gould could seek to revive the concept of a limited-purpose national bank charter,” said Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst at TD Cowen.
Among the nominees, Rodney Hood has been serving as Trump’s temporary comptroller and would be replaced by Gould if confirmed. Temporary Republican replacements like Hood are currently leading most of the financial regulatory bodies.
At the CFPB, Trump’s effort to re-organize the regulator faced criticism, and now he has indicated McKernan, a Republican member of the FDIC, as the intended replacement for the interim leader, Russ Vought.
Ian Katz, a longtime financial-regulation analyst noted the conventional nature of the choice of Gould and others, emphasizing that these nominations are likely to be well-received by U.S. senators.
The Senate must confirm these nominees, a process that can stretch over several months. Sometimes confirmations fail, leaving agencies with acting heads.
In addition, Trump also selected Brian Quintenz, a former commissioner, to chair the CFTC. Current commissioner Caroline Pham has been making significant changes as acting chairman.
