Since its rise in the finance world, crypto has faced a lot of antagonism. From very anti-crypto regulatory enforcements to key figures speaking against the industry, crypto has faced all sorts of hostility, and yet it has managed not just to survive but thrive. 

Donald Trump’s election success also brought in many hopes of crypto advancement, as he promised to fire SEC chair Gary Gensler, among other things. But the breaking news is that Gensler may not be the only anti-crypto regulator going out the door. 

According to a letter addressed to US President Joe Biden and sent by Micheal Barr himself, the vice chair is set to resign his position in the Federal Reserve very soon. 

The letter revealed that Barr’s resignation will take effect on February 28th or even earlier if a successor is selected before that date. Barr, however, will continue to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. 

Following Barr’s resignation announcement, many have linked his exit to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0”—an alleged federal anti-crypto effort to debunk crypto companies—tagging him as the latest anti-crypto official to leave his position.

Even before his resignation announcement, some crypto executives had always seen the outgoing Federal Reserve chair as one of the key reasons why many US banks refused to offer their services to crypto firms.

This view took ground, especially after Barr made a speech on March 9, 2023, in which he said, “We would likely view it as unsafe and unsound for banks to directly own crypto-assets on their balance sheets.” This confirmed the central bank’s outlook on crypto. 

Barr’s resignation has sparked some strong opinions from key members within the crypto community and even some lawmakers. 

Senator Cynthia Lummis took to X on January 6 to say, “Michael Barr has completely failed to fulfill his duties as Vice Chair for Supervision at every turn, enabling Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and illegally increasing his power at the cost of Wyoming’s digital asset industry,”

Similarly, in another January 6 post on X, Custodia Bank’s CEO Caitlin Long called the outgoing Barr “THE FED’S DEBANKER-IN-CHIEF.” She also pointed to him as one of the people responsible for Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

Many members of the crypto community seemed to enjoy Barr’s announcement. Nic Carter, partner at the blockchain-focused Castle Island Ventures, also took to X to make up a wanted poster of other anti-crypto public figures he believes to be responsible for Operation Choke Point 2.0. 

Carter also pointed out that over half of the names on his list have already announced their resignations, stepped down, or lost elections as the crypto-focused Donald Trump administration prepares to take over from the Biden administration.

Despite Micheal Barr’s anti-crypto reputation, he has previously served as an adviser at the blockchain payment firm Ripple and even pushed for responsible regulation of stablecoins, a move necessary for advancing crypto adoption in the United States. He also supervised the Fed’s research into central bank digital currencies.

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