Stablecoin Skeptic Michael Barr Steps Down As Vice Chair for Supervision Ahead of Trump Inauguration

The Federal Reserve Board has announced that Michael S. Barr is resigning from his position as Vice Chair for Supervision.

In a statement, Barr said he didn’t want a potential dispute over the position in the near future to distract from the Fed’s “mission.”

“The position of vice chair for supervision was created after the Global Financial Crisis to create greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability for the Federal Reserve’s supervision and regulation of the financial system. The risk of a dispute over the position could be a distraction from our mission. In the current environment, I’ve determined that I would be more effective in serving the American people from my role as governor.”

Barr’s resignation comes less than two weeks before pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

In 2023 during a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, D.C., Barr warned about the “special risks associated with stablecoins,” advocating for stiffer regulations on the asset class.

Said Barr,

“Stablecoin issuers seek to have—but don’t—some of the same characteristics as federally insured bank deposits. Stablecoin issuers represent that their liabilities can be redeemed on demand at par, a dollar for a dollar. In fact, however, the assets backing the liability can fluctuate in value… The banks we regulate, in contrast, are well protected from bank runs through a robust array of supervisory requirements.

Consider the consequences if a stablecoin not subject to appropriate supervision and regulation were to be adopted as a widespread means of payment, which some stablecoin developers state as a goal. Stablecoins have the potential to scale quickly because of network effects. An unregulated, unsupervised, deposit-like asset could create tremendous disruptions, not just for financial institutions but for people who might rely on the coin if it were to get wide adoption.

We must learn from the past to ensure that we do not allow for new forms of unregulated private money subject to classic forms of run risk, and with the associated spillovers and systemic implications for households, businesses, and the broader economy.”

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