Wall Street Bank CEOs Tell Congress They’re Unlikely to Finance Crypto Miners

The chief executives of Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo were questioned Wednesday at a congressional hearing.

By Michael Bellusci

Sep 21, 2022 at 7:42 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 22, 2022 at 8:09 p.m. UTC

CDCROP: Bank of America sign (Getty Images) — The CEOs of Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo testified before Congress on Wednesday. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

Follow @mikeybellusci on Twitter

The heads of several of the top U.S. banks said Wednesday they don't have any plans to finance cryptocurrency miners.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a crypto mining critic, asked the heads of three major banks whether they intended to finance crypto mining during a congressional hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

“I do not believe so,” Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf both said their banks had no plans for that either.

In April, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who leads a subcommittee within the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee, recruited almost two dozen Democratic colleagues to urge federal environmental officials to devote further scrutiny to the consequences of cryptocurrency mining.

Raising capital has become difficult for miners this year as the price of bitcoin (BTC) has slumped and energy prices have skyrocketed. Miners have had to get creative, while various companies are attempting to fill the void for miners. Decentralized finance (DeFi) firm Maple Finance, for example, is starting a $300 million lending pool for mid-size bitcoin miners across North America and Australia.

Industry participants also expect some mergers and acquisitions as miners grapple with lower crypto prices.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.