Dozens of examples of US regulators preventing banks from offering bitcoin services have been exposed by the Coinbase exchange.
According to publications on stay away from cryptocurrency related services.
As Grewal points out in his tweetthe agency “finally began giving us information related to our FOIA request about the pause letters it sent to financial institutions as part of Operation Chokepoint 2.0» (a second version of a US government plan to hinder the advance of Bitcoin).
These are two requests sent last October by Coinbase to regulators, following guidelines established in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In it, it demands information about the “pause letters” that the agency sent to banks asking them to reduce the growth of banking activities related to cryptocurrencies. The idea is to get some kind of clarity on How regulatory agencies have been addressing digital assets in these 4 years.
This is how the exchange had access to a document where the mechanisms used to prevent the United States bank from offering services with cryptocurrencies are observed, confronting to the high interest shown by some banks in the ecosystem. All this within the framework of the repressive policy applied by the Biden government in the last four years.
“In short, the content is a shameful example of a government agency attempting to cut off financial access to law-abiding American businesses,” says Grewal.
So far we have discovered more than 20 examples of FDIC orders to banks to “pause” or “refrain from providing” or “not proceed” to offer cryptocurrency banking services. The public deserves transparency, not an agency that works behind a bureaucratic curtain.
Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase.
The court filing summarizes 23 documents detailing cases in which the FDIC questioned banks’ risk assessments about cryptocurrencies, advising them that they abstain to offer such services.
Most of the cases presented were similar, Grewal says. In one case, described in “Document 5,” the FDIC reportedly called a meeting with a bank to examine its cryptocurrency services. Even though the bank provided more documentation after the meeting, it raised additional “questions” and advised the bank: “Do not extend service until the review is complete.”
The end of anti-bitcoin policies is expected after the elections
As CriptoNoticias has reported, regulatory pressure from the Biden government in the United States caused some banks to move away from bitcoin-related services. In fact, various banks, including some closely linked to the ecosystem, they closed their doors in March last year, such as Silvergate, Signature and First Republic.
A few months ago, several figures in the digital asset sector, such as Nic Carter and Tyler Winklevoss, also denounced that the Fed uses aggressive regulatory tactics to restrict cryptocurrency companies’ access to essential banking services, “carrying out a systematic campaign to stifle banks that offer services to the cryptocurrency industry.
The Coinbase discoveries come as the election campaign for the United States presidency reaches its final stretch. This November 5, the name of a new president will be known. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are fighting for the position and the ecosystem has expectations that with the new government there is a favorable change in the anti-bitcoin policy deployed by Biden.
On this topic, Carter draws attention to the promises that Trump has made during the campaign, showing himself willing to promote the advancement of the American ecosystem and apply measures opposite to those implemented by Biden. “Vote for Trump tomorrow to end Operation Chokepoint 2.0, expose the facts, launch an investigation, and bring those responsible to justice,” says Carter in an X post.
For a large majority of members of the ecosystem, there is more hope that changes will come if Trump wins, since the proposals that Harris has made for the cryptocurrency sector still seem too ambiguous for many.