US President Donald Trump nominated acting Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) Chairman Travis Hill to lead the banking regulator permanently.
Under his acting leadership, Hill has demonstrated an overall crypto-friendly stance. He has a track record of opposing policies he viewed as attempts to debank the industry.
Hill Tap Suggests Promise of Lighter Regulation
Trump has tapped Hill to permanently lead the FDIC, an independent agency responsible for maintaining the stability of the US financial system and insuring bank deposits.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Hill is widely expected to maintain lighter enforcement on banking activities. This scenario will likely allow US banks to become more involved in crypto-related services.
Reversing Course: Easing Scrutiny on Banks and Crypto
Travis Hill is the FDIC’s Acting Chairman. He has held the role since Trump appointed him after assuming office in January 2025. Before that, he served as the FDIC’s Vice Chairman beginning in 2023.
His initial tenure at the agency was during Trump’s first term, where he was Senior Adviser to the then-FDIC Chair, Jelena McWilliams.
Under Hill, the FDIC has taken steps to relax its regulatory oversight.
In March, it reversed a Biden-era policy that had imposed stricter scrutiny on mergers involving large banks. The regulator also announced that banks could participate in crypto-related activities without seeking prior approval.
This change represented a key shift in US banking policy. It effectively removed a significant obstacle that had previously limited the ability of large financial institutions on Wall Street to engage with digital assets.
Hill’s Pushback on Regulatory Overreach
Hill has also been vocal about his opposition to “debanking,” which occurs when banks cut ties with customers from sectors they view as risky, such as crypto companies.
He has publicly disagreed with the accusation that federal agencies had formally commanded banks to cut off ties with crypto-related companies.
Incoming FDIC interim chair Travis Hill confirms regulatory-driven debanking. OCP2.0 = real. Says the FDIC will clean house. https://t.co/hT8kpObWON pic.twitter.com/uzouv3yAec
— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 10, 2025
The acting chairman criticized the FDIC’s previous supervisory methods, observing that it had fostered a widely held belief that the agency was unwilling to work with banks exploring blockchain-related activities.
“I have talked in the past about how damaging this approach has been, as it has stifled innovation and contributed to a public perception that the FDIC is closed for business if institutions are interested in anything related to blockchain or distributed ledger technology,” Hill said in a speech before assuming his role as acting chairman.
Hill initiated a policy change to remove “reputational risk” from the factors that FDIC supervisors use when evaluating banks.
It was intended to eliminate a basis for supervisory pressure that critics argue was previously used to unfairly discourage financial institutions from serving legal businesses involved in digital assets.
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