The Federal Reserve Board of the United States and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions have announced an enforcement action against Farmington State Bank, a financial institution whose parent company received more than $11 million from Alameda Research.
In an Aug. 17 announcement, the Fed said the enforcement action was related to Farmington “improperly chang[ing] its business plan” in 2022 without proper notification and approval. The bank did not inform the Fed it intended “to pursue a strategy focused on digital banking services or digital assets.” Formerly named Moonstone, Farmington received roughly $11.5 million from FTX’s sister firm Alameda through its holding company FBH Corporation in March 2022.
“The Board’s action ensures the bank’s operations will wind down in a manner that protects the bank’s depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund,” said the Fed. “The action also prohibits Farmington and FBH from making dividends or capital distributions, dissipating cash assets, and engaging in certain activities without approval from its supervisors.”
Farmington announced in January that it planned to exit the crypto space in an effort to return to its “original mission” as a community bank. However, the Fed enforcement action suggests the bank had “engage[d] in activities related to digital assets,” including facilitating the issuance of stablecoins for an unnamed third party “in exchange for receipt of 50 percent of mint and burn fees.”
The Fed reported Farmington, based in Washington, had planned to sell its loans and deposits to the Bank of Eastern Oregon. Neither the Fed enforcement action nor the move to leave the space explicitly mentioned crypto exchange FTX, which declared bankruptcy in November 2022.
The enforcement action represented the latest by federal regulators against banks with ties to crypto firms and investors in the wake of the FTX collapse. Silvergate Bank’s parent company announced in March it planned to “wind down operations” for the crypto bank. This action preceded Silicon Valley Bank collapsing amid a run on deposits and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shutting down the crypto-friendly Signature Bank.
U.S. lawmakers conducted several hearings in the wake of the bank failures, with some suggesting that ties to crypto firms had contributed to the banks’ collapse. New York Department of Financial Services superintendent Adrienne Harris reportedly said it was “ludicrous” to blame digital assets for the collapse of Signature.
US banking groups have urged Congress to close a so-called loophole letting stablecoin issuers offer yields through affiliate firms, fearing it undermines the banking system.
US and international law enforcement agencies have taken down servers and websites linked to the BlackSuit ransomware group and seized $1 million in crypto.
It says human rights in the UK “worsened” in 2024, with “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression”, as well as “crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism” since the 7 October Hamas attack against Israel.
On free speech, while “generally provided” for, the report cites “specific areas of concern” around limits on “political speech deemed ‘hateful’ or ‘offensive'”.
Sir Keir Starmer has previously defended the UK’s record on free speech after concerns were raised by Mr Vance.
In response to the report, a UK government spokesperson said: “Free speech is vital for democracy around the world including here in the UK, and we are proud to uphold freedoms whilst keeping our citizens safe.”
Image: Keir Starmer and JD Vance have clashed in the past over free speech in the UK. Pics: PA
The US report highlights Britain’s public space protection orders, which allow councils to restrict certain activities in some public places to prevent antisocial behaviour.
It also references “safe access zones” around abortion clinics, which the Home Office says are designed to protect women from harassment or distress.
They have been criticised by Mr Vance before, notably back in February during a headline-grabbing speech at the Munich Security Conference.
Ministers have said the Online Safety Act is about protecting children, and repeatedly gone so far as to suggest people who are opposed to it are on the side of predators.
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The report comes months after Sir Keir bit back at Mr Vance during a summit at the White House, cutting in when Donald Trump’s VP claimed there are “infringements on free speech” in the UK.
“We’ve had free speech for a very long time, it will last a long time, and we are very proud of that,” the PM said.
But Mr Vance again raised concerns during a meeting with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at his country estate in Kent last week, saying he didn’t want the UK to go down a “very dark path” of losing free speech.
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The Trump administration itself has been accused of trying to curtail free speech and stifle criticism, most notably by targeting universities – Harvard chief among them.