Senator Cynthia Lummis has called for an investigation into allegations of recent attacks on digital asset companies by staff at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). She described these allegations as "serious" in a statement made on X on January 11.
"Recent allegations of attacks against digital asset companies by staff at the FDIC, if true, are bone-chilling," said Lummis. "Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is real and I will work with Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott to get to the bottom of these serious allegations."
According to CoinGeek, the term "Chokepoint 2.0" is used by cryptocurrency advocates to describe what they perceive as a systematic effort by U.S. regulators to restrict banking access for crypto-related businesses. This term is derived from Operation Chokepoint, a 2013 initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at limiting banking access for industries deemed high-risk, such as payday lenders.
Senator Lummis' post
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Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, responded to Lummis's statement in an X post. He said that Coinbase will "press on" regardless of any "further antics" by the FDIC and expressed gratitude to Lummis for addressing concerns about Operation Chokepoint 2.0.
Binance.US encountered significant challenges after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) labeled the exchange a "cauldron of fraud" in 2023. Interim CEO Norman Reed told CoinDesk that this accusation was unsupported by evidence in court. Following the lawsuit, Binance.US lost thousands of customers and billions of dollars in assets and laid off 70% of its staff. Reed said that institutions and banks distanced themselves from Binance.US due to the SEC's allegations likening them to FTX. Over an 18-month period, Binance.US operated as a crypto-only exchange and faced difficulties restoring banking relationships.
Sam Kazemian, founder of Frax Finance, shared his experience with JPMorgan closing his accounts last December because his primary source of income was cryptocurrency. According to Kazemian's post on X, his banker explained that account closures were directed from senior management, specifically mentioning Jamie Dimon. Kazemian noted that he received rare transparency due to his close relationship with his banker but assumed most people would not receive such explanations. He added his name to what he termed the "debanked OCP list," linking it to "Operation Chokepoint 2.0."
Lummis was sworn into the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2021, becoming Wyoming's first female senator. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016 and was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus.
