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Maxine Waters Seeks Details on Kraken Financial’s Kansas City Fed Master Account

Maxine Waters Seeks Details on Kraken Financial’s Kansas City Fed Master Account

Rep. Maxine Waters said in a March 26 letter that the Kansas City Fed should explain by April 10 why Kraken was granted a limited-purpose account with access to Federal Reserve payment services.

Fact Check
The claim is directly verified by an official press release from the House Financial Services Committee Democrats (democrats-financialservices.house.gov). The letter was sent on March 26, 2026, by Maxine Waters to the Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid, requesting clarification on the approval of Kraken Financial's 'limited purpose account,' including access limits and regulatory safeguards.
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Summary

Rep. Maxine Waters expanded her scrutiny of Kraken Financial’s access to Federal Reserve infrastructure by sending a March 26 letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. She asked the bank to respond by April 10 and explain why Kraken was granted a limited-purpose account that would allow the crypto exchange access to Federal Reserve payment services. The request adds a deadline and reinforces earlier questions about the basis for the approval, the compliance standards used, the limits on Kraken Financial’s access, and the safeguards, oversight, risk controls, AML measures, and consumer protection requirements tied to the account.

Terms & Concepts
  • Master account: An account at a Federal Reserve Bank that can give an institution access to central bank payment services and settlement infrastructure.
  • AML: Anti-money laundering rules and controls designed to detect and prevent illicit financial activity.
  • Fedwire: A Federal Reserve payment system used for real-time gross settlement of large-value transactions.