Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif. representative of the House Committee on Financial Services (Phenomena) has questioned the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's approval of a "limited purpose account" for Kraken, the first time in U.S. history for a cryptocurrency company, giving the company direct access to Fedwire, the core payment infrastructure used by thousands of U.,S. banks and credit unions. Waters expressed concerns about the decision, arguing that access to the nation's "critical" financial infrastructure should not be granted without complete transparency, a clear legal basis, and assurances that risks are being managed. The approval allows Kraken to settle dollar transactions directly on Fed rails rather than intermediary banks, which may result in faster deposits and withdrawals with less counterparty risk. However, it includes guardrails.