Jonathan Gould confirmed to lead OCC with $250B stablecoin oversight

Jonathan Gould, former chief legal officer at blockchain firm Bitfury, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The Senate voted 50 to 45 largely along party lines to approve Gould’s appointment as Comptroller of the Currency.

His confirmation comes amid congressional consideration of the Genius Act, legislation designed to regulate stablecoin issuance in the United States.

Under the proposed framework, the OCC would directly supervise federally licensed stablecoin issuers, overseeing a market currently valued at over $250 billion.

The Genius Act passed the Senate on June 17 and is expected to become law later this year.

A Citi report from April projects the stablecoin market could expand to $3.7 trillion by 2030.

The OCC is responsible for chartering, regulating, and supervising national banks and federal savings associations.

Gould previously served as the OCC’s chief counsel from 2018 to 2021.

He was also chief legal officer at Bitfury, a company providing blockchain-as-a-service solutions to governments and enterprises.

More recently, Gould was a partner at law firm Jones Day.

President Donald Trump nominated Gould for the OCC role in February.

Gould is among several pro-crypto regulators appointed to key federal positions.

In April, Paul Atkins, endorsed by Trump and a digital assets investor, was confirmed as Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission.

Brian Quintenz, with strong cryptocurrency industry ties, is expected to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Gould’s leadership at the OCC will be critical as the agency prepares to oversee stablecoin issuers under the forthcoming regulatory framework.