Files lawsuit against cryptocurrency bank Custodia (formerly Avanti) fed to delay a decision on the issuer’s application for access to the payment system through a main account.

The complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court in Wyoming. Caitlin Long’s company accused the agency of delaying the processing of a “critical application for Custodia’s job.”

According to the lawsuit, it has been 19 months since the appeal was filed with the Fed.

“Such an account would allow Custodia to have direct access to the Federal Reserve rather than a brokerage bank. “These outright unlawful delays are exacerbated by the non-standard procedures adopted by the defendant, which interprets them as allowing federal agencies to operate in complete confidentiality, when and how they choose, without any obligation.”

Plaintiff added that the regulator described the decision-making time in its documents as “5-7 business days.” According to Custodia, the delay in filing “clearly violated the statutory one-year time limit.”

In November 2020, the Wyoming Banking Board unanimously approved Avanti’s charter and business plan, giving it official financial institution status.

In July 2021, Long criticized the Fed for being biased towards crypto companies. According to him, the regulator risks disconnecting industry participants from the banking system by blocking their direct access to payment services.

Recall that in August of the same year, the crypto bank applied for Fed member bank status.