Adrienne Harris, the superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, reportedly denied claims that the U.S. government was planning to enforce “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” She also denied that the closure of Signature Bank in March was linked to its exposure to digital assets. Speaking at the Chainalysis Links conference in New York City, Harris said that the bank’s failure was a “new-fashioned bank run” and that the suggestion that it was related to crypto exposure was “ludicrous.”
Harris also pushed back against the idea that the U.S. government was actively limiting certain industries’ access to banking services. Signature Bank was taken over by the NYDFS on March 12 to protect the U.S. economy from “system risk.” However, some lawmakers, including Barney Frank and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, have criticized the move.