Bowman calls on the Federal Reserve to ease restrictions and allow employees to experience crypto.
The current U.S. administration is pushing for a more open policy toward digital assets.
In an unusual move from within the U.S. central bank, Michelle Bowman, the Federal Reserve's Vice Chair for Supervision, called for a reconsideration of the strict restrictions that prevent central bank employees from owning digital currencies.
Bowman said during her speech at the blockchain conference in Wyoming that the Federal Reserve should allow its employees "to own very small amounts of digital assets" in order to understand the technology up close. She added: "There is no substitute for direct experience, whether in ownership or in monitoring transfer operations."
Background of the ban: An old scandal resurfaces
Since 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve has tightened its investment rules following revelations of questionable trades by three of its senior officials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, most employees and their spouses have been prohibited from owning any cryptocurrencies or crypto-related financial products.
But Bowman believes that these strict rules hinder the attraction of new expertise. She even considers that easing restrictions could help retain talent capable of understanding the rapidly expanding sector.
Bowman did not settle for dry talk, but used a simple metaphor: "I would not trust someone to teach me to ski if they had never worn ski boots even once." This points out that understanding digital currencies requires direct experience, not just reading reports and research about them.
Towards a more open policy
In her speech, Bowman criticized what she described as the "overly cautious mentality" of financial regulators, asserting that financial technology is not a threat as much as it is an opportunity. She warned that ignoring blockchain could lead to the entire traditional banking system being surpassed.
She said: "We have to choose: either we embrace change and build a strong framework, or we stay in place and let technology surpass us."
Bowman's statements come amid a second Trump administration that shows an increasing inclination to embrace crypto. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to investigate complaints of "banking deprivation" from crypto companies and conservatives.
The Federal Reserve also recently announced the end of a supervisory program on banking activities related to blockchain, a program that was launched by the Biden administration in 2023.
Bowman has not yet specified the types of products or the amount of assets that employees may own, but she has opened a sensitive discussion within one of the world's most prestigious financial institutions.
As the debate around the future of the banking system in the blockchain era intensifies, it seems that the Federal Reserve is becoming closer to opening up to crypto rather than confronting it.
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