US banking giant JPMorgan has reportedly suspended its customer onboarding process with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.
This decision comes on the heels of a social media post by Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, in which he accused the bank of “trying to kill fintech and crypto companies.”
In another post today, Winklevoss alleged that JPMorgan canceled Gemini’s re-acceptance process because of a previous tweet by Winklevoss. In that tweet, Winklevoss warned that major banks were trying to bypass the Open Banking Rule, drafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which takes effect at the end of 2024.
This new regulation gives consumers the right to freely share their bank data with third-party platforms. Platforms like Plaid serve as a key bridge for transferring funds to cryptocurrency exchanges like Gemini, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Winklevoss made the following statement:
“They want to quietly take away your right to free access to your banking data. We will not remain silent, Jamie Dimon. Sorry.”
Some in the crypto industry are viewing this development as a new example of the long-discussed “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” This operation is described as an effort by regulators to indirectly pressure crypto companies to push them out of the financial system. While the debate subsided earlier this year with Trump-era reforms, recent developments have rekindled tensions.
Ironically, JPMorgan has recently taken a more lenient approach to cryptocurrencies. According to a report last week by the Financial Times, the bank is exploring loan products directly collateralized by crypto assets like Bitcoin. This stance contradicts CEO Jamie Dimon’s previous statements calling Bitcoin a “fraud.”
*This is not investment advice.
