By the end of this week, a known crypto backer may be leading a US banking regulator.

Jonathan Gould’s future as the potential next Comptroller of the Currency hinges on his performance at the confirmation hearing that’s slated for Thursday.

If successful, Gould will replace Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood, who was appointed in February.

Crypto industry reps have welcomed the nomination as a sign that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will engage with Congress about more industry-friendly regulation.

Gould is just one in a string of nominations President Donald Trump has made to fill key positions within his government with crypto industry supporters.

Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, also has his confirmation hearing on March 27.

What is the OCC?

The OCC is responsible for overseeing national banks and federal savings associations and enforcing banking regulations.

On Thursday, the OCC announced it was removing references to “reputation risk” from its guidebooks, and instructed agency examiners to strike it from their lists.

The issue of reputational risk is at the centre of the crypto debanking controversy that was reignited in November following investor giant Marc Andreessen’s appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

The crypto industry alleged that the Biden administration actively instructed banks to deny crypto firms access to banking services.

Not everyone bought the idea of crypto debanking. The idea’s detractors noted that banks often drop or avoid doing business with high-risk companies.

As Patrick McKenzie, an adviser to payments giant Stripe, pointed out in an essay banks often “derisk” their balance sheet by dumping clients that are too risky.

Who is Jonathan Gould?

It’s against this backdrop that Gould will take the stand on Thursday.

He has a degree in history from Princeton, with law degrees from Washington and Lee University.

A veteran of Wall Street, Gould clocked up time at investment giant BlackRock and as a financial regulatory adviser for the industry before joining the OCC as a senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel in 2018.

He held that role until 2021, according to his LinkedIn page.

Between February and September 2022, he was the chief legal officer at crypto firm Bitfury.

Since then, Gould has worked as a partner for the DC-based law firm Jones Day.

Gould’s experience will “serve him well as the agency continues its important mission to promote a resilient and healthy national banking system,” wrote Rob Nichols, President and CEO of the American Bankers Association, in February after Trump’s nomination.

Gould’s crypto history

Gould has a history of backing crypto causes, apart from his role at Bitfury.

In 2023, he delivered testimony to Congress alluding to the practice of crypto debanking.

He wrote that “the vague and occasionally shifting definitions used in agency guidance [around digital assets] may cause banks to think twice about any use of distributed ledger technology or decentralised networks.”

Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for Inside Solana. Have a tip? Reach out to aflanagan@dlnews.com.