President Donald Trump has kept his campaign promise to end Operation Chokepoint, a regulatory effort that used to target the crypto industry. This is a big change for the U.S. cryptocurrency landscape. This operation, which started during the Biden administration, told banks to stop doing business with crypto companies. This caused a lot of trouble for founders and businesses in the sector.
Notable people in the industry, such as Nic Carter, Tyler Winklevoss, Roman Storm, and Jesse Powell, said they were directly affected. They said that established crypto banks like Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Bank were under a lot of scrutiny for helping clients with digital assets. Carter talked about how “capricious” regulatory pressure could push whole industries to the edge, making otherwise healthy companies like Silvergate have to close down on their own. Carter says that the shutdown wasn’t because of the risks of crypto itself, but because the government was trying to keep the industry separate from the rest of the financial system.
Anti-crypto sentiment among policymakers, especially Senator Elizabeth Warren, made things worse by creating a climate of distrust and even encouraging bank runs after events like the FTX collapse. Operation Chokepoint didn’t just affect crypto; it also affected other things. For example, Elon Musk and Donald Trump both said that major banks turned down their deposits, showing how far the operation had reached.
President Trump signed an executive order guaranteeing fair access to banking for all Americans in response to widespread worries. The order specifically talks about the use of “reputation risk” ideas, which is a regulatory strategy that is used to allow politicized or illegal debanking. Now, federal banking regulators have 180 days to take these ideas out of guidance documents. The Federal Reserve has already said that it will no longer look into reputational risk in its supervisory practices. This means that crypto businesses will now be able to access more financial services.
Ending Operation Chokepoint is a big deal for the U.S. crypto industry. It restores trust and encourages new ideas by making sure that all regulated businesses have the same access to banking services.
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