Waters Demands Fed Details on Kraken's Master Account
Representative Maxine Waters is pressing the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City for transparency on conditions, anti-money laundering measures, and consumer protections tied to Kraken Financial's master account. The House Financial Services Committee ranking Democrat set an April 10 deadline for Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid to respond.
Key Takeaway
Kraken's Fed account sets a precedent other crypto firms are chasing despite political pushback.
Representative Maxine Waters sent the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City a letter demanding details on Kraken's recent master account approval. The ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee gave Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid until April 10 to respond.
Kraken Financial secured the limited-purpose master account earlier this month, becoming the first crypto-native company to gain direct Fedwire access. Waters said the Kansas City Fed's announcement lacked specifics about which Federal Reserve services Kraken can actually use due to confidentiality rules around business information.
The letter pressed for details on conditions or restrictions applied to the account, anti-money laundering measures considered, and consumer protection safeguards. Waters noted that innovations in payments and digital assets are rapidly outpacing statutory frameworks developed for traditional finance.
Kraken's approval came after over five years of regulatory review under the Federal Reserve's tiered system, which placed the exchange in Tier 3—the strictest level of scrutiny. The account provides direct Fedwire access but excludes interest on reserves or lending facilities available to traditional banks.
Other crypto firms are pursuing similar accounts. Custodia Bank filed a court petition in late 2025 to renew its master account bid after an earlier application was denied. Anchorage Digital Bank and Ripple through Standard Custody & Trust Company also applied for Fed accounts in 2025.
This article was written based on reporting from Cointelegraph.
