US President Donald Trump used the term in an August executive order “guaranteeing free banking,” claiming that having regulators access reputation risk could result in “politicized or unlawful debanking.” The order did not specifically mention digital assets.
Before Trump took office and signed the executive order, many in the crypto industry alleged they were denied access to US banking services as part of an orchestrated push by authorities due to their ties to digital assets.
Court documents made public in December as part of a Freedom of Information Act request with the FDIC showed the regulator asked some institutions to “pause all crypto asset-related activity” in 2022.
Related: Crypto debanking is ‘still occurring’ as banks stick to Chokepoint policies
The alleged actions, dubbed “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” by some, became a campaign issue for Trump and many Republicans during the 2024 election. After Trump won the presidential election and appointed Hill, the acting FDIC chair said the regulator would be “reevaluating [its] supervisory approach to crypto-related activities.”
Cointelegraph reached out to the FDIC for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Ongoing US government shutdown under Trump
On Tuesday at midnight, the US government shut down after lawmakers failed to pass a bill extending funding beyond Oct. 1.
While the shutdown has significantly reduced operations at US financial regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the FDIC said it would remain “open and operational” regardless of how long the political fight lasts.
Magazine: Hong Kong isn’t the loophole Chinese crypto firms think it is
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