During a speech on Friday, the Vice Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Travis Hill, who is also a potential Trump pick for Chair, acknowledged there had been some crypto debanking. It was part of his wide ranging analysis of potential future policy directions including changes to be made with respect to digital assets, DLT and blockchain.
“Closely related to the agencies’ recent approach to digital assets is the problem of ‘debanking’,” he said. “Over the past few years, there have been various accounts of individuals and businesses associated with the crypto industry losing access to bank accounts without explanation. This follows a long history of other types of customers experiencing the problem of debanking, including the politically disfavored business groups targeted by the original ‘Operation Choke Point,‘ individuals associated with certain religious or political groups, and many others.”
Coinbase submitted a freedom of information request to the FDIC on this topic, with the responses published last week. In most cases the letters showed a pattern of delaying or obstructing banks that planned to offer crypto services. A few examples related to engaging with DLT, including the USDF tokenized deposit consortium.
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