Operation Chokepoint: OCC Confirms Crypto Sector Debanking Under Biden Administration

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has confirmed that banks under its supervision debanked the crypto sector under the Biden administration, a move famously known as Operation Chokepoint 2.0. The report found that these banks had policies that essentially discouraged providing financial services to the crypto industry.

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OCC Confirms Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Against Crypto Sector

According to an OCC report, the regulator found that the nine largest banks under its supervision had policies in place between 2020 and September 2025 that effectively debanked the crypto sector. This follows a supervisory review carried out in accordance with an executive order that President Trump signed last year.

The banks in question include JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citibank, and Wells Fargo, which are the largest by asset size. Several crypto stakeholders, including Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, had accused JPMorgan of complicity in Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

The OCC also said it identified two primary policy categories that posed an elevated risk of encouraging or otherwise influencing institutions to deny access to stakeholders in the crypto industry. It is worth noting that the crypto sector is just one of eight sectors that the bank regulator mentioned as being victims of these policies.

Meanwhile, the regulator found that, as part of Operation Chokepoint, institutions restricted banking crypto activities, affecting crypto issuers and exchanges. The top crypto exchange, Coinbase, notably played a major role in exposing how far federal agencies under the Biden Administration went in victimizing the crypto industry.

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Senator Lummis Comments On Findings

In an X post, pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis commented on the OCC’s findings on Operation Chokepoint. “No American should lose access to a bank account because of their politics or their industry, and that includes the digital asset businesses wrongfully targeted under Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” she said.

She also thanked the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Comptroller Jonathan Gould for their efforts to ensure Americans have fair access to banking. Senator Lummis had been vocal against these debanking activities and last year called out JPMorgan for allegedly debanking Strike CEO Jack Mallers.

The OCC also highlighted efforts it has made to address this, including removing and prohibiting consideration of reputation risk in bank supervision. Earlier this year, the Fed took a similar step to end crypto debanking.