Federal Reserve revokes guidance requiring banks to gain preapproval on cryptocurrency activity



The Federal Reserve has rescinded its guidance for banks related to handling cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

In a recent press release, the Federal Reserve Board said it was removing guidance that forced banks to seek special permission before dealing with digital assets.

According to the release, a 2022 supervisory letter established an expectation that banks would provide advance notification of planned cryptocurrency activities, while updating the Reserve of ongoing ventures.

The justification for the requirements included market instability, money-laundering concerns, and consumer protection.

"Certain types of crypto-assets, such as stablecoins, if adopted at large scale, could also pose risks to financial stability," the expunged letter read.

However, the board now says it will no longer expect banks to provide notification and will instead "monitor banks' crypto-asset activities through the normal supervisory process," the press release explained.

The 2023 letter, since withdrawn, required banks to demonstrate, "to the satisfaction of Federal Reserve supervisors," that the bank had controls in place in order to conduct safe transactions surrounding cryptocurrencies. This was called a "supervisory nonobjection" where banks did not get to engage in an activity and then have it scrutinized, but rather they needed to submit their "proposed activities" to the Federal Reserve in order to move forward.

This was not a form of an approval process either, though, but rather a "nonobjection."

Taking off more reins

The Federal Reserve board also said it would be working with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to determine if additional guidance to support innovation with crypto-asset activities is needed.

According to Crowdfund Insider, the OCC announced in March that it would be making its own changes to its Comptroller's Handbook booklets and guidance. On change from the federal agency, which works within the Treasury Department, was that it would no longer examine institutions for "reputation risk."

"The OCC’s examination process has always been rooted in ensuring appropriate risk management processes for bank activities, not casting judgment on how a particular activity may fare with public opinion," said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood.

"The OCC has never used reputation risk as a catch-all justification for supervisory action. Focusing future examination activities on more transparent risk areas improves public confidence in the OCC's supervisory process and makes clear that the OCC has not and does not make business decisions for banks."

President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, which at the same time forbids the acquisition of other digital assets except through forfeiture proceedings.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The underlying wins in Trump's first GDP report



The Department of Commerce released the first GDP report of President Donald Trump's second term on Wednesday, sending critics into a frenzy.

The legacy media's coverage of the report reiterates the same claim: The economy "shrank." But between the lines, the report paints a different, more promising picture.

On its face, the report shows that the economy contracted at a 0.3% rate in the first quarter as a result of the ongoing trade war and tariff uncertainty. Despite this, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Richard Clarida argued that this figure was "distorted" and predicted it would be revised upward.

'It's no surprise the leftovers of Biden's economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering.'

"Not really much of a surprise," Clarida said. "I do think the Q1 numbers were probably distorted by that huge surge in imports to front-run the tariffs, and I think could be revised up slightly. So the final number may be closer to zero."

"I do think probably that the Fed will probably try to look through this number because of those distortions. ... Maybe the headline number is a bit misleading this time," Clarida added.

As Clarida pointed out, these distortions are overshadowing key indicators that would suggest the economy is actually building momentum.

For example, consumer spending outpaced government spending by 3.2 percentage points, which has been the strongest figure since the Q2 report back in 2022. Consumer spending is a strong indicator of economic health that can lead to several positive outcomes like GDP growth, increasing demand, and job creation.

The report found that inflation has also halted, with the PCE price index showing zero increase in costs from February to March. This is a promising figure compared to the 0.3% increase in costs in January.

"It's no surprise the leftovers of Biden's economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.

While the GDP has contracted overall, the core GDP grew a robust 3%, which the administration said "signals strong underlying economic momentum." Gross domestic investment also soared 22% in the first quarter, which was the highest in four years.

"Robust core GDP, the highest gross domestic investment in four years, job growth, and trillions of dollars in new investments secured by President Trump are fueling an economic boom and setting the stage for unprecedented growth as President Trump ushers in the new golden age," Leavitt said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Consumer prices are down — why can’t Democrats admit it?



The latest inflation report is in — and for the first time in nearly five years, the Consumer Price Index has dropped.

According to data released April 10, gas prices led the decline, falling 6.3% from February to March and nearly 10% year over year. That’s real relief for working families.

It’s easy to claim every success as earned and every failure as someone else’s fault. But that’s not leadership — it’s childishness.

But don’t expect Joe Biden to credit Donald Trump. That would mean acknowledging the obvious: These results aren’t from Biden’s policies — they’re from Trump’s.

Psychologists call it the “locus of control.” People with an internal locus believe they shape their own destiny. People with an external one think they’re at the mercy of circumstance.

Most people pick one or the other. But Democrats? They flip depending on who happens to sit in the Oval Office.

When inflation stayed low under Trump, they called it luck. When inflation hit a 40-year high under Biden, they blamed Vladimir Putin. And landlords. And grocery stores. And payment processors. Anyone but Biden.

That spin didn’t pay the bills — especially in minority communities hit hardest by inflation.

Federal Reserve data shows that black and Hispanic households spend a higher share of income on gas, groceries, and rent than white households. In cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Charlotte, black renters saw double-digit rent hikes between 2021 and 2023.

What did we hear from the White House? Excuses. Deflection. “We’re building back better” — but for whom?

Trump gave us the answer. On day one, he signed executive orders to fast-track energy permits, cut red tape, reopen federal lands for drilling, and establish a new National Energy Council.

The results are clear. Energy prices are dropping. Inflation is cooling. And Americans — at long last — are catching a break.

Biden took the opposite approach. He vowed to “end fossil fuel,” killed the Keystone XL Pipeline, blocked offshore drilling, and even sold oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — to China.

When energy prices surged, he pointed fingers. Biden blamed the war in Ukraine. But by January 2022 — before the invasion — gas prices were already up 40% year over year, and inflation had hit 7.5%.

The “Putin price hike” was a convenient distraction from Biden’s failed energy agenda.

And the scapegoating didn’t stop there.

When inflation hit every corner of the economy, Attorney General Merrick Garland pointed at Visa, accusing debit card fees of fueling the crisis. The fees in question? Fourteen cents on a $60 purchase.

Never mind that businesses willingly pay those standard fees. If they had a real problem with them, they could easily switch to any number of alternative companies or payment methods.

If Garland wanted real answers, he should have looked at Biden’s regulatory agenda. One study estimates those rules will cost the average family $47,000 over a lifetime.

When rents spiked, Biden and the Justice Department pointed fingers at landlords and pricing algorithms. They ignored the real drivers: millions of illegal immigrants increasing demand and federal mandates that jacked up compliance costs for builders. And the algorithms they blame? Those same tools recommend lower prices when inflation and demand cool down.

As grocery bills climbed, Biden blamed “shrinkflation” and greedy grocers and meatpackers. He ignored the real culprits: trillions in wasteful spending from the American Rescue Plan and the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

This is the pattern: Jack up costs, then blame someone else. Spin doesn’t fill a gas tank in Jackson or put groceries on the table in Memphis. A press release won’t pay the electric bill in Columbia.

It’s easy to claim every success as earned and every failure as someone else’s fault. But that’s not leadership — it’s childishness. No kindergarten teacher would tolerate it. Voters shouldn’t either.

And they aren’t. Democrats are polling at 29% for a reason.

While the media tracks the stock market, Main Street is what matters. When gas prices jump 60%, hedge fund managers don’t suffer. It’s the single mom in Detroit, the delivery driver in Atlanta, and the grandmother in Baltimore stretching her Social Security check.

This isn’t academic. It’s survival.

Americans are done with excuses. They want results — and President Trump is delivering.

He didn’t just talk tough. He cut gas prices, cooled inflation, and restored energy independence. For communities crushed by elite policy failures, those results aren’t just political. They’re life-changing.

Why Comparing Trump’s Tariffs To The Smoot-Hawley Act Is Dishonest

Trump's tariffs will work — but they'll work even better with the Federal Reserve's help.

FACT CHECK: No, Trump Has Not Ordered The Federal Reserve To Begin Minting Quarters Without Ridges

A viral post shared on X claims President Donald Trump has purportedly ordered the Federal Reserve to begin minting quarters without ridges. 🚨BREAKING🚨 Donald Trump orders federal reserve to begin minting quarters w/o ridges This change comes as a result of a signed petition from 88 jewish advocacy groups claiming that quarters w/ ridges threaten […]

Time to dismantle the Fed’s debt-based dollar scam



A banking cartel is haunting our society with its ability to create, destroy, and control money — the Federal Reserve. It must be abolished and replaced with a more rational and fair system.

Money is the lifeblood of modern civilization. It enables us to establish contracts, assess the worth of goods and services, and trade efficiently. But what exactly is money, and who creates the U.S. dollar?

Our monetary system is a mechanism for transferring wealth to urban elites who produce nothing.

The first step in understanding money is dispelling the notion that a valuable asset like gold backs it — because it doesn’t.

The dollar is valuable for two reasons. First, it is backed by the “full faith and credit of the U.S. government,” meaning its worth derives from its ability to tax people to pay its debts. Second, the federal government only accepts tax payments in U.S. dollars, creating an inherent demand for the currency.

Despite these factors, the federal government creates very little of our money. The U.S. Treasury prints paper bills and mints coins, but physical cash accounts for only about 10% of our total money supply.

The hidden mechanism of money creation

Most of our money comes from debt — and that’s a problem.

Modern money is almost entirely created through lending. Every non-cash dollar must eventually be repaid to a private bank with interest. In other words, most U.S. money is simply a collection of IOUs owed to private financial institutions.

Commercial banks operate under a system called “fractional reserve banking.” They are private businesses that only hold a small amount of cash reserves and issue loans often exceeding 900% of their small cash reserves. When a bank issues a loan and deposits it into a borrower’s account, new “money” is created out of thin air.

An unelected financial cabal

Over 100 years ago, a group of powerful financiers met on Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia, to draft a plan that would give them — rather than Congress — control over America’s monetary system. The result was the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which created the Federal Reserve — a private banking cartel disguised as a government agency.

The Federal Reserve is not part of the U.S. government. It is a privately held bank consortium, accountable only to its shareholders. The Federal Reserve’s transactions have never been fully audited, and its decisions require no approval from any government official. Congress has outsourced its constitutional control of the American money supply to some of the wealthiest people in the world, arguably the greatest financial crime in the history of this country.

When the federal government spends more than it collects in taxes, it borrows the difference. It issues Treasury bills to borrow money from investors or the Social Security trust fund. In some cases, it issues Treasury bills directly to the Federal Reserve. The Fed then creates money by adding numbers to an account without tangible backing. This process leaves the government — and ultimately taxpayers — responsible for repaying the Federal Reserve with interest.

Leveraging their monopoly on money creation, private banks earn vast sums from interest on loans that far exceed what they hold in reserves. U.S. banks currently have $3.3 trillion in reserves yet carry $12.5 trillion in outstanding loans. Borrowers pay real interest on imaginary money, funneling nearly half a trillion dollars annually into bankers’ pockets.

This is why skyscrapers bear the names of banks. Bankers get rich on money that doesn’t belong to them. Our monetary system transfers wealth to urban elites who produce nothing. The interest they collect is a one-way street paved with gold.

The Fed and inflation

Since the Federal Reserve’s creation, the federal government has continuously eroded the U.S. dollar through reckless borrowing. We have now accumulated $38 trillion in debt, and inflation has soared to over 3,000% since 1913, eroding the purchasing power of ordinary Americans.

The tidal wave of newly created “magic money” inflates the total money supply, devaluing existing dollars and making everyday goods more expensive. The Federal Reserve’s shareholders profit because they collect interest on government-issued debt, while bureaucrats, lobbyists, and corporations tied to federal spending rake in the cash. The rest of us, however, pay for their legerdemain through higher taxes and the devaluation of our wealth.

In the last two years alone, the wealth of the bottom 50% of Americans grew by just $1.5 trillion, while the wealth of the top 1% gained $11.8 trillion. Empowered by its control over money, the wealthiest elite has consolidated ownership of media conglomerates, major industries, and political influence. Elites have rigged the system, ensuring that the magical goose laying their golden eggs is never threatened by ordinary people.

Boom-bust — a banker’s best friend

Massive government borrowing coincides with colossal money creation, triggering economic booms. Speculative bubbles form in stocks and real estate, but these booms always lead to busts.

When debt-laden consumers default on loans, the money supply shrinks, and the economy grinds to a halt. Bankers and politicians, armed with insider knowledge, navigate these cycles with ease — profiting from the economy’s expansion and collapse. Meanwhile, the average American suffers job losses, foreclosures, and financial ruin.

We do not elect the elites who control this system. We are simply the drones who ultimately pay for it through higher taxes, inflation, and economic instability. The top 0.1% in America now controls as much wealth as the bottom 90%.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816, “The banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” He foresaw the threat posed by private banks controlling the nation’s currency, predicting they would “deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

It is time to end this system of financial serfdom. The power to issue money should be returned to the people where it rightfully belongs.

Fed vice chair exits role as DOGE gears up for audit



Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr resigned from his position last week after he previously claimed that he wanted to avoid a potential "dispute over the position" with the Trump administration.

Barr's resignation follows reports that the Department of Government Efficiency is preparing to audit the Federal Reserve.

'Asking a Magic 8-Ball whether we should change rates is ACTUALLY better than the Fed!'

In January, Barr sent a letter to then-President Joe Biden, stating that he planned to exit as vice chair on February 28 or earlier if a successor was confirmed. He noted that he would "continue to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board" after stepping down.

In a press release announcing his decision, Barr called it "an honor and a privilege to serve as" vice chair, which he noted was a position "created after the Global Financial Crisis to create greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability for the Federal Reserve's supervision and regulation of the financial system."

"The risk of a dispute over the position could be a distraction from our mission. In the current environment, I've determined that I would be more effective in serving the American people from my role as governor," Barr declared.

Bloomberg reported that Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Governor Michelle Bowman remain on the committee. The media outlet noted that President Donald Trump will likely have to appoint an existing board member as the next vice chair for supervision since a new vacancy is not expected until next year.

Elon Musk, a critic of the Federal Reserve, indicated last month that the DOGE is preparing to conduct a review of the central bank.

"All aspects of the government must be fully transparent and accountable to the people. No exceptions, including, if not especially, the Federal Reserve," Musk wrote in a post on X.

He has repeatedly called the Federal Reserve "absurdly overstaffed."

According to a September 2023 report from Reuters, the central banking system employs roughly 24,000 people.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has pushed back on Musk's overstaffing claims.

"We run a very careful budget process where we're fully aware. We owe that to the public, and we believe we do that," Powell told Fox Business in January.

Musk has also scrutinized the Fed's system for determining rate changes.

"Asking a Magic 8-Ball whether we should change rates is ACTUALLY better than the Fed!" he stated.

Musk has argued that lowering rates would "materially benefit lower income earners."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!