Bloomberg Law
April 2, 2020, 6:45 PM

ANALYSIS: New OCC COO Portends Expanded Federal Crypto Scrutiny

Robert Kim
Robert Kim
Legal Analyst

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced former Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Brian Brooks as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and First Deputy Comptroller, effective April 1. This announcement, along with February actions by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Treasury Department as a whole, clearly signal that Treasury is preparing for major actions in 2020 on issues created by the rise of the crypto sector.

Another Link in the Chain

For years, the various offices and bureaus under the Treasury Department publicly showed little interest or expertise in crypto developments, aside from FinCEN’s ...