PANews, July 11 - According to The Block, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of former Bitfury Chief Legal Officer Jonathan Gould as the Director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) by a vote of 50 to 45. This appointment is pending final approval by President Trump. Gould served as the OCC's Senior Deputy Comptroller from 2017 to 2020 and has recently worked at the blockchain company Bitfury. Notably, pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis cast a dissenting vote during the procedural voting stage, citing the need for further communication with Gould regarding issues such as stablecoin legislation and the prioritization of federal banking laws, but switched to support in the final vote.
The OCC has implemented several crypto-friendly policies this year, including explicitly allowing banks to buy and sell crypto assets for themselves and removing references to 'reputational risk' from its regulatory handbook, while emphasizing that banks must still manage related risks appropriately.