Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 11, where Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) challenged him over the central bank’s handling of digital assets and its responsiveness to congressional oversight. Lummis accused the Fed of obstructing transparency and withholding essential details, particularly regarding policies on digital currencies. She argued that this reluctance had fostered confusion and regulatory instability in the digital asset industry.

“The Fed is a black hole. It consumes information, but it never releases it,” she said, expressing frustration over the institution’s approach to cryptocurrency regulations and financial technology. She further accused Powell’s staff of providing misleading information about Wyoming’s digital asset policies and referenced former Senator Pat Toomey’s assertion that the Fed had “lied” to lawmakers when offering technical guidance on legislation.

The senator urged Powell to ensure transparency and cooperation in digital asset oversight, asking if he and the Federal Reserve staff would fully comply with committee document requests. Powell responded, “Sure.” When pressed further on whether he would instruct staff to provide complete responses without obstruction, he stated that the Fed aims to be responsive but noted some requests might exceed its capabilities. Powell described:

We always work with the committee to be responsive to your requests. Sometimes they are beyond our capacity to respond to … but we are always responsive to committee requests.

Lummis took issue with this response, citing a statement from the Fed’s general counsel that the institution “generally resists legislative prescriptions,” which she interpreted as defiance of congressional authority. She contended that the Fed’s hesitancy to engage with lawmakers had fueled uncertainty for businesses and financial institutions operating in the digital asset space.

Concerns over de-banking emerged as another point of contention, particularly regarding financial services for digital asset companies. Lummis questioned whether Powell would take action against any staff found to be involved in discriminatory de-banking practices, asking: “Do you commit to disciplining or removing any staff that are found to have engaged in de-banking activity, furthering Operation Choke Point 2.0 or other misconduct?” Powell stopped short of making a firm pledge but acknowledged the seriousness of the issue, stating:

I can’t make an open-ended commitment to remove anybody. But I will tell you that I am struck … my colleagues and I are struck by the growing number of cases of what appears to be de-banking. We are determined to take a fresh look at that.

He noted that in response to previous hearings, the Fed had already removed certain policies from its manual. Despite Powell’s assurances, Lummis and other lawmakers remained skeptical, continuing to push for stricter oversight and increased transparency in the Fed’s policies on digital assets and financial innovation.

Following the hearing, Lummis voiced her frustration on social media platform X, stating: “In the real world, if you break the rules, you get fired. Somehow, we’ve let Chair Powell break the law, yet he continues to wield enormous power.”

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