DOJ Opens Debanking Probe Into JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo

Crypto Insight Summary: [Sign in, it's free](https://thedefiant.io/sign-in?callbackUrl=%2Fconverge%2Fregulation%2Fdoj-opens-debanking-probe-jpmorgan-bank-of-america-wells-fargo) 1. [Home](https://thedefiant.io/) 3. [Converge](https://thedefiant.io/converge) 5. The probe directly validates the crypto industry's Operation Chokepoint 2.0 grievances. Prosecutors are examining whether the terminations violated the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, a statute traditionally used to prosecute bank-related fraud. For the crypto industry, the investigation amounts to a formal government inquiry into what advocates have long called Operation Chokepoint 2.0: a pattern of account closures at major banks during 2022 and 2023 that digital-asset executives said targeted them for their involvement in crypto. The phrase Operation Chokepoint 2.0 borrows from the original Operation Choke Point, a 2013 Obama-era DOJ program that pressured banks to cut ties with industries officials considered high-risk. [FDIC documents obtained by Coinbase](https://www.coinbase.com/blog/operation-chokepoint-2-0-is-real-and-heres-the-proof) through a Freedom of Information Act request showed agency staff advising banks to avoid or limit crypto client relationships starting in 2022. A 2023 [House Financial Services Committee report](https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409550) identified at least 30 entities cut off through informal regulatory guidance and supervisory pressure. Crypto Insight Analysis: Direction: Bullish Crypto Impact: Major Impact Horizon: Mid-term (1-8 weeks) Reasoning: DOJ probe validates crypto industry's claims of unfair banking practices, potentially leading to regulatory clarity and fairer treatment.