Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday that the crypto sector is detached from the traditional finance world and thus can see ‘big crashes’.
- Waller said that the central bank is planning to roll out its ‘skinny master accounts’ proposal before the end of the year.
- On the CLARITY bill, Waller said there is a lot of opposition to what lawmakers want to do on things.
- Bitcoin price at the time of writing fell nearly 1%.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday that clarity on cryptocurrency regulation seems to be stalled in the U.S. Congress as uncertainty over the passing of the CLARITY bill continues to loom.
Speaking at a conference in La Jolla, California, hosted by the Global Interdependence Center, Waller said that the initial optimism that lifted cryptocurrency prices following President Donald Trump’s election appears to be fading as the sector is experiencing a significant selloff.
“Some of the euphoria that came into the crypto world with the current administration, some of that’s kind of fading,” Waller said.
Clarity Stalled
“Right now, CLARITY seems to be sort of stalled in the Congress. There’s a lot of opposition to what they want to do on things, and they can’t seem to break through and finish and I think that’s part of the reason there are some disruptions in this crypto world,” Waller said.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, also called the CLARITY bill, is aimed to make it easier to handle digital assets, add protections for consumers, and provide businesses and regulators with a clear set of rules.
Skinny Master Accounts
Waller said that the central bank is planning to roll out its ‘skinny master accounts’ proposal before the end of the year. ‘Skinny’ accounts are a proposal from the Federal Reserve that would be focused on payments and without the full functionality of a traditional bank master account.
Waller touted it as capable of spurring innovation in the payments space, while balancing Fed’s risk exposure as these accounts would not receive interest on balances or provide overdraft protection.
“I would like to try to have this done by the end of the year if possible,” Waller said at the event.
“They (skinny accounts) have all kinds of services that go with and they make payments through the Fed rails. You have access to fed wire, ACH payments, you get intraday credit if your account goes negative to Fed most of the money during the day,” Waller said.
Bitcoin Prices
On the selloff, Waller said that the crypto sector is detached from the traditional finance world and can therefore see ‘big crashes’.
“I think there was a lot of sell off, just because firms that got into it from mainstream finance had to adjust their risk positions,” he said.
Bitcoin price at the time of writing fell nearly 1% to $70,331.49. Retail sentiment around BTC trended in the ‘bearish’ territory in the past 24 hours amid ‘extremely high’ message volume.