Fed Cracks Down on U.S. Bank for Lapses in Crypto Risk Controls
The Federal Reserve has ordered United Texas Bank to halt operations due to major flaws in its risk management and handling of cryptocurrency clients.
On September 4, the Fed revealed that a recent examination uncovered serious issues in the bank’s corporate governance and risk management related to foreign correspondent and virtual currency transactions. The Fed noted deficiencies in compliance with anti-money laundering laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act.
The order did not specify the exact regulatory breaches but stated that the bank is now working to enhance its anti-money laundering practices and compliance measures. The bank’s board has committed to improving oversight of these requirements.
READ MORE: Donald Trump’s Upcoming Crypto Project Will Utilize Ethereum and Aave
United Texas Bank, which has 75 employees and manages approximately $1 billion in assets, has been under scrutiny along with other crypto-friendly banks. In August, the Fed took similar actions against Customers Bancorp for deficiencies in risk management and anti-money laundering practices.
These recent actions have led to claims that the government is attempting to restrict banks from interacting with the cryptocurrency sector, a theory some have referred to as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
