19 November 2024
Martin Gruenberg, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), announced today that he’ll be stepping down on January 19, 2025, one day before Trump takes office.
I’d like to take this opportunity to tell Mr. Gruenberg not to let the door hit him on the way out.
The FDIC chair was one of the key players behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0 (as well as the first Operation Chokepoint), which included the unlawful debanking of a number of Bitcoin and crypto companies, which almost spurred a global financial crisis.
During this tenure, Gruenberg directed the FDIC to take unlawful action against banks that served the Bitcoin and crypto industry seemingly because the industry was politically unfavorable.
Gruenberg said he’d be leaving his post in May of this year, after reports of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination occurring within FDIC under his watch surfaced but didn’t offer a date for his departure until today.
A number of prominent voices in the Bitcoin and crypto industry spoke out against Gruenberg, over the past two years. Most prominent among them was Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter.
The resignation of choke point Marty was bigger news than the ETH ETF. Here’s why: https://t.co/g1KVX4ASMn
— nic carter (@nic__carter) May 21, 2024
While Gensler will likely be remembered as the most disliked regulator by the Bitcoin and crypto industry under the Biden Administration, Gruenberg will be a close second.
As we move forward with a new administration that has pledged to be more fair to the Bitcoin and crypto industry, let us take a moment to celebrate the exit of Gruenberg, a corrupt bureaucrat who tried and failed to stop a burgeoning industry by abusing his power.