Online reported that on Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board ("Fed") closed its "New Business Activities" regulatory program established in 2023. When the project was launched, regulators had said its purpose was to "ensure that risks associated with innovation are properly addressed." The project is mainly applicable to distributed ledger technology (DLT), cryptoassets, banks supporting the cryptocurrency space, and complex technology-driven partnerships between banks and non-bank institutions. The Fed said it now has a fuller understanding of the risks involved, so these business activities can be included in regular regulatory processes. In April, the Fed also withdrew several regulatory letters targeting cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology, including one requiring a "letter of no objection" before launching related business activities. The restrictive regulatory approach of the project has had a real impact on blockchain banking initiatives. Freedom of information requests filed with the FDIC show that the project blocked the launch of the USDF Consortium, which aims to promote interbank payments between community banks, and eventually abandoned the project. The consortium is not alone in having such goals.