• OCC lead crypto innovation
    Sen. Mike Crapo wants acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks to create “clear rules of the road” for the cryptocurrency industry (Photo: U.S. Senate/OCC)
    Cryptocurrencies,  Regulation

    Senate banking chair: U.S. should lead in crypto innovations

    Sen. Mike Crapo took note of former Coinbase lawyer Brian Brooks’ activity at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in moving to create “clear rules of the road” for the crypto industry

    September 3, 2020 /

    Brian Brooks, who left his position as chief legal officer of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to take up the reins at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has been active in helping the industry make nice with banks that have long avoided it.

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  • Brian Brooks OCC crypto custody
    As Acting Comptroller of the Currency, former Coinbase exec Brian Brooks has brought a pro-crypto perspective to the Treasury Dept. (Photo: Treasury Dept.)
    Regulation

    U.S. banks can now custody crypto

    From the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, former Coinbase exec Brian Brooks made clear yesterday that banks can legally take custody of customers’ cryptocurrency holdings

    July 23, 2020 /

    After less than two months in government service, former Coinbase chief legal officer Brian Brooks came through for the cryptocurrency industry in a big way.

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  • Paul Grewal joins Coinbase
    Paul Grewal will have a big in tray as he gets his feet under the table (Photo: Coinbase)
    Cryptocurrencies,  Regulation

    Paul Grewal poached from Facebook to become Coinbase’s chief legal officer

    He replaces Brian Brooks, who left Coinbase four months ago to join the Office for the Comptroller of the Currency; Grewal may presiding over a Coinbase IPO

    July 10, 2020 /

    In a July 8 blog post announcing the hire, Grewal was described as a top executive who has “repeatedly encountered some of the largest and most complicated legal issues in tech.”

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  • Bitcoin is not a new type of money
    The crypto Twitterverse reacted with its usual calm to criticism of Bitcoin (Photo: Klaus Hausmann/Pixabay & FreePNG)
    Cryptocurrencies,  United States

    NY Fed: Bitcoin is not a new type of money. Crypto: Get the tar and feathers!

    “Ignorance” and “incompetence” were two of the more polite replies after a blog post by the New York Federal Reserve Bank last week argued “Bitcoin is not a new type of money”

    June 22, 2020 /

    When the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a blog post with the headline “Bitcoin Is Not a New Type of Money,” the authors may have hoped their thought-provoking piece would inspire genteel, reasoned debate. But probably not.

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