US Senate confirms ex-Bitfury exec to lead OCC banking regulator

Jonathan Gould, who previously worked as the chief legal officer of blockchain infrastructure company Bitfury, has been confirmed as the head of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) following a Senate vote.

In a 50-45 vote in the US Senate on Thursday, a majority of lawmakers voted to confirm Gould to head the banking regulator. In addition to his work at Bitfury, Gould is a partner at the Cleveland-based law firm Jones Day and served as the OCC’s senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel from 2018 to 2021.

Gould’s nomination was the latest from US President Donald Trump to be addressed by the Senate since the president took office in January. The chamber has previously voted to confirm Trump’s pick to head the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, and is expected to take up a vote for Brian Quintenz to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) soon. 

Expected to serve a five-year term at the OCC, Gould’s confirmation and others’ signaled a radical change in leadership of crucial US regulators, directed entirely by the Trump administration. Many in and out of government have suggested some of the president’s picks were catering to crypto industry interests following his 2024 election win, including his nomination of Atkins.

Related: Trump’s CFTC chair pick won’t push president for bipartisan commission

With the confirmation of Gould, acting OCC head Rodney E. Hood will likely step down. However, as of Thursday, Trump had not named any potential replacements for seats expected to open up at the CFTC in the coming months, with the exception of Quintenz. 

Brian Brooks, who also served as acting Comptroller of the Currency from 2020 to 2021, was briefly the CEO of Bitfury after his time in government. The former OCC head was the chief legal officer at Coinbase, the CEO of Binance.US, and has gone on to join the board of directors at Strategy. 

Senate push for crypto market structure is incoming

Lawmakers in the Senate set a Sept. 30 goal to draft, introduce and vote on a bill to establish a market structure for digital assets, one of the key pieces of legislation for which many in the crypto industry have been advocating.

Republicans in the House of Representatives announced plans to move forward with the chamber’s proposed market structure bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, starting on Monday. The bill moved out of committee in June after lengthy debate, but could still take a backseat to the Senate’s efforts.

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