The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday debated whether crypto and fintech firms should get direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system through so-called skinny master accounts.

What A Skinny Master Account Actually Unlocks

Fed Governor Christopher Waller floated the skinny master account concept back in October. 

A full master account gives an institution direct access to the Fed’s payment infrastructure, the deepest connection to the US money supply any financial firm can get. 

Crypto companies currently lack that access entirely, forcing them to route everything through partner banks that already hold one, adding cost and delay to every transaction.

Rep. Dan Meuser (R-NY) framed the stakes bluntly during the hearing. “Access to the Federal Reserve payment system is not a small issue,” he said, pushing the committee to determine exactly who should be allowed that level of access to critical payment rails. 

Dozens of organizations have already submitted comment letters on the proposal. Crypto firms say regulators should have introduced it sooner, while community banks argue regulators do not hold newer players to the same compliance standards as traditional banks.

Two Regulatory Moves Already Pushed This Forward

President Trump signed an executive order in May directing the Fed to formally review its policies on granting fintech and crypto firms direct payment rail access. 

That order followed a separate move in March, when the Kansas City Fed approved a limited-purpose account for Payward, the parent company of Kraken, a decision that already sparked debate over how far this access should extend before Wednesday’s hearing even happened.

Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered crypto bank, pushed for more regulatory clarity rather than less. 

Head of Global Operations Rachel Anderika told the committee that keeping America as the world’s financial capital requires frameworks, both federal and state, that actually make room for innovation rather than blocking it by default.

Volatility And Synapse’s Collapse Are The Counterargument

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) pointed directly at Bitcoin‘s (CRYPTO: BTC) swing from above $100,000 a year ago to as low as $59,000 Wednesday as evidence the financial system isn’t ready to safely absorb that kind of volatility through bank-like payment access. 

He cited Synapse’s 2024 bankruptcy, where customers lost millions in funds held on fintech platforms, as the cautionary case Congress needs to study before granting any crypto firm reserve-account-level powers.

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