{"id":49026,"date":"2021-09-07T13:02:54","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T10:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=49026"},"modified":"2025-09-02T10:34:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T07:34:02","slug":"avanti-ceo-criticises-new-york-times-article-on-the-crypto-industry-and-defi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/avanti-ceo-criticises-new-york-times-article-on-the-crypto-industry-and-defi\/","title":{"rendered":"Avanti CEO criticises New York Times article on the crypto industry and DeFi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency bank Avanti, Caitlin Long, has rebutted the conclusions cited in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/cryptocurrency-banking-regulation.html\">New York Times article<\/a> on digital assets and the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NYTimes<\/a> story on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/crypto?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#crypto<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/banking?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#banking<\/a> deserves a thoughtful reply. Issue isn\u2019t black &#038; white: anti-crypto forces try to paint us all w\/ a broad brush. Bad actors deserve to be called out, but the article ignores fact that regulatory-compliant firms exist. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IUYTctBGfV\">https:\/\/t.co\/IUYTctBGfV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Caitlin Long \ud83d\udd11 (@CaitlinLong_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaitlinLong_\/status\/1434611151115993088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 5, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The publication asserted that cryptocurrency and DeFi are \u201cundermining the banking industry\u201d, triggering concern among regulators and \u201csome members of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThis technology is moving so quickly and unpredictably that it is disrupting the world of financial services, regulators are lagging behind, and this could render consumers and financial markets vulnerable,\u201d<\/em> says the article.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The New York Times pointed to the crypto-lending platform BlockFi. In July<a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/regulator-bars-blockfi-from-opening-new-accounts-for-new-jersey-residents\"> the New Jersey Bureau of Securities barred the company<\/a> from opening new BIAs (BlockFi Interest Account) for residents of the state, but ultimately moved the start of the restrictions<a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/former-cftc-chief-steps-down-from-blockfi-board\"> to September 30<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Regulators<a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/alabama-regulator-accuses-blockfi-of-selling-unregistered-securities\"> Alabama<\/a>, Texas and<a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/vermont-regulators-launch-probe-into-blockfis-activities\"> Vermont<\/a> also levelled similar complaints against BlockFi.<\/p>\n<p>The piece also recalled the hostility of American politicians toward cryptocurrencies. Earlier in an interview, Senator Elizabeth Warren <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/senator-elizabeth-warren-calls-cryptocurrencies-the-new-shadow-banks\">&#8220;shadow banks&#8221;<\/a>, focusing on the BlockFi case.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>&#8220;Lawmakers and regulators are concerned that consumers do not always fully understand the potential risks of new crypto banking services and decentralized finance platforms. Deposits in cryptocurrency are not insured at the federal level,&#8221;<\/em> writes <em>New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to Long, the piece contains a number of inaccuracies and omissions.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cCrypto opponents are trying to paint all of us with a broad brush. Bad actors deserve to be named, but the article ignores the existence of compliant firms,\u201d<\/em> wrote the CEO of Avanti.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In July, Warren <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/senator-elizabeth-warren-urges-tougher-regulation-of-cryptocurrencies-in-the-united-states\">urged<\/a> U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to lead the development of a strategy to reduce the growing risks that cryptocurrencies pose to the financial system.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, Senator Elizabeth Warren <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/us-senator-calls-cryptocurrencies-a-shoddy-investment\">called<\/a> digital assets a &#8220;lousy investment&#8221; and said they facilitate illicit activity.<\/p>\n<p>In August, in response to Warren&#8217;s request, Gary Gensler, head of the <span data-descr=\"U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\" class=\"old_tooltip\">SEC<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/gary-gensler-sec-needs-additional-authority-to-regulate-crypto\">noted<\/a> that the agency needs additional powers to regulate cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2020, the Wyoming Banking Board unanimously approved Avanti&#8217;s charter and business plan, granting it status as an officially chartered financial institution.<\/p>\n<p>In the summer of 2021, Long criticised the <span data-descr=\"U.S. Federal Reserve System\" class=\"old_tooltip\">Fed<\/span> for its bias against crypto companies. In her view, denying them direct access to its payment rails creates the risk of cutting industry participants off from the banking system.<\/p>\n<p>Later<a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/avanti-a-crypto-bank-applies-for-federal-reserve-membership\"> Avanti filed an application for membership as a participant bank in the Federal Reserve System.<\/p>\n<p>Follow ForkLog news on Twitter!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency bank Avanti, Caitlin Long, rejected the NYT article&#8217;s conclusions regarding digital assets and the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2003,1093,2004,36,26],"class_list":["post-49026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-avanti","tag-defi","tag-kaitlin-long","tag-regulation","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"17","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49028,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49026\/revisions\/49028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}